A Fox's third chance
by A-son the fox
Summary: I think I'll quit now, I want to create something new now. AfterStory of Slagar. To forgive someone is one of the greatest and finest things to do. Both Evil and Good can change, we just hope that she does it before it is too late...
1. Prologue

_This is about Sela's child, a young toddler,  
the kit of the Greatest healer vixen in all history.  
This is about Slagar the Fox!_

_Final Remake, Prologue–Like a Past made of glass shards_

After he had fell down to his doom in the old well of Loamhedge, Slagar had finally awakened after days of unconcsciousness. The tod had lain beneath a pile of rubble, the stones that were laid down into the secret pathway to Malkariss' kingdom. But now he was slowly waking up!

* * *

A group of weasels had convinced themselves to get back to the woods, to find a better place to stay in then their previous open fields had offered them. Far away from it! From a distance they, had noticed something lacking in their surroundings as they traveled. One of the weasels notified, that it must have been one of places they stayed on while they still had had been part of Slagar's group.

The memories weren't pleasant for most of weasels. It didn't take long untill one of them found a reason to go check it out: - Treasure. Now when everything was gone, they had free paws to take all the riches as they pleased! This of course caused chaos in their small group. The weasels almost went crazy, searching everywhere they could!

Feeling like the lucky winner, one of the weasels had discovered that there were stones that could be moved, which was found underneath the soft earth ontop of the well-looking structure! After a while of horrific racing to the riches, and instead realizing that one of their members had found something, the weasels were soon fighting on who should dig up the treasure, and on who would earn all the riches!

The well was soon cleared of most stones, and so some of them had to climb down (with a promise from the other's that they would hold the rope for them when they climbed back up with the treasure) to continue the digging. It was then one of them began to notice what looked like fur, seen through the tiny holes that were visible between each stone. With a closer look, and after an abrupt discussion, they started to worry the worst. The weasels above didn't take any chances, and so they dropped the rope, leaving the others down there!

Terrified, they tried everything to reach the top again! It took a good long time before all of the weasels were gone.

* * *

Meanwhile in the well, his eyes slowly went up, very weak. He coughed a few times, terrible pain coming from his throat. When he got his concscious back, he tried his best to remember what had happened and where he were. When he realized what had happened, sly grin crossed his face. He had fell down into something deep, yet survived!

First things first, he thought. He had survived something or someone, and it was time to take that opportunity while he still had the chance. He couldn't dig upwards from where he laid, not yet, for he was too weak, and he could hardly even move, see or talk, so that was a fools' wish. Instead, he tried to crawl over to the door that was just a short paw away.

If you were healty, the weight from the remaining stones wouldn't bother you, neither did they to Slagar. But it was for the fact that every piece of bone in his body felt broken, making the crawl to the door, even if it was less then his own lenght in distance, seeming almost impossible! It didn't even feel like a crawl! His hinds were dragged, so were his fronts!

He breathed hardly at every pull. It felt like he had _no_ powers left in him at all anymore... When he eventually did reach the door, he used his closest paw and tried to push it open. No use. Then he used both of his paws, but the door seemed to be stuck. He tried to drag himself closer to the door, so he could easier be able to use more of his strenght.

He did another attempt, now feeling that he soon wouldn't be able to take much more. He used all of his last remaining powers to force it open, as a few words escaped through his heavy breathtakes.

"Argh... come.. on n-.. no-ow... ...p...please... let... me... get.. th...rhg... ...rough..."

He succeeded in getting through a little opening and pulled himself inside and through it. He then laid there, moved on his side and sometimes on his back, panting exhaustedly for a long time. After what seemed to have been going on for an eternity down the bottoms of Malkariss' old kingdom, he felt an strong urge to think out his next move. He had to get out as soon as possible, as quickly as he could.

He may have not been able to remember very much, but he had a strong sense of that getting through the main way was certainly not the right way outside. If he had gone that way, he would soon discover that all the exits were all blocked by boulders and broken stone monuments of the recent ruler. And even if he could get out that way, he wouldn't survive the stay inside the old kingdom for that long.

The air was also quickly running out and Slagar needed to escape through the easiest, safest and quickest path possible. He soon got an idea on what he was going to have to do to be able to get out: The well! Now when he was in another room, he could take one stone at the time and then throw them into another spot, like the big enough corridor he already laid in! There was a lot of space in the corridors left, so he was certain on that it would work! He became even more sure when he noticed that there wasn't hardly any stones left! And with that, he began working. For his freedom!

His paws were dirty and hurt him with extreme pain, but that wasn't even a slight of a problem for the fox. Especially when the choices stood between taking care of his wounds or to get out from old Loemhedge.

It didn't take long before he found Vitch, with his Bolas firmly stuck to his throat, laying amongst some of the few remaining stones. He snorted at the sight of a corpse and took the weapon away from the dead rat kid. Now he was using a combination of both his paws and the triple-chained metal balls against the "Grave of Chickenhound" he was digging through.

After yet some more scratching, slashing, slamming, pulling and digging, the work was starting to go smooth! He started to hymn an old song to himself that he had learned from his mother when he was just a little fox kit. Though he couldn't remember anything neither of it...Mother nor childhood...

It was the song he had been hymning on the same day he last used the well for his escape. What an coincidence. The difference was, which he had no clue about, that it had been Slagar who did it last time. The fox that did it this time, was the one he had been earlier. Before his life had fell into darkness.

Now it wasn't long before he could begin climbing out! He made one last blow and pulled away yet another stone before he thought it was time to try if he could begin the climb. He stuck his head inside the well and looked up, and was greeted by brightness. He inspected the way up closely with care, for the sake of his safety and survival. It would be a shame to die now after all this, he thought and smirked to himself.

He sat down and began licking both of his black paws, and then his feet when he was done with them. After that, he took a break, to recharge his energy before his third and final exhausting task.

While taking his break, he used the tip of his tounge to take care of the remaining cleaning of his paws and feet while he was resting, to make use of his time. He needed them as clean and yet as dry he could get them before the climb, for else it could later bring problems to his climbing. He needed to get all of his paws to be in the best condition possible, so that nothing would go wrong. When ready, he easily took off with a leap towards the walls. It had all happend so fast, so he didn't feel the large amount of pain until after the leap.

The tremendous damage his body had suffered was almost unbearable! But like the fox he was, he had simultaneously managed to get most of his claws burrowed inside the wall, keeping him from falling, and held on, as good as he could. Then, finally, he could head upwards, as the light shone down at him and warmed the fox's entire back, head and tail as he went up!

He turned blind for a short moment, when the sharp sunshine, coming from the opening, had suddenly hit him right in his face as he had raised his head to make a quick peek upwards. He was smiling. He almost didn't believe his eyes. With new gained energy filling inside him, he pushed himself to the extreme limits and forced himself all the way to the end of the endless tunnel of death. Lucky. Lucky…and very grateful…

When he reached the top, he pulled himself over the edge and fell down on the green grass.

Several emotions hit him at once while he lay down in the grass, refreshing air blowing through the fur while the burning sun comfortably warmed the dirty and worn out fur.

For the first time for a very, very long time, he was filled with…_joy_? Everything was so clear now, but there were still that newfound feeling he couldn't understand. Joy? Me? That can't never be, he thought, but at the same time, he had no idea why he thought like that? Slagar turned his head and looked towards the North direction.

Now he felt that he was in deep need of a place to stay, hide and recover. He had to get back. But, to what? And what was he trying to hide from? He couldn't remember everything, almost nothing, of his past, no matter how hard he tried! The only feelings he remembered were deep, dark ones. That he had to fill someone from his past with the entire hate and sorrow he carried. But who? Who was the one? And why do it? And why do I carry this darkness? When did it all happen to me? And _why_ can't I remember clearly? He tried not to think about it for the moment. He had only one thing he cared about right now...

_What Slagar didn't remember.  
Was that he had been, as long as he could remember, been wrong about his past.  
The question was; if he would remember it the right way this time, when the memory came back..._

* * *

_Mattimeo: Slagar the Cruel & General Ironbeak - Brian Jacques._

_A Fox's second Chance – Sonny R. Fox _


	2. Next to over

_Final remake, Chapter I - Next to over_

As soon as Slagar had decided on which way he would travel in, he raised himself up and tried to get a move on his legs. He had soon found out that his body was in a worse condition then he first throught.

First, he was limping; a lot! His eyes hurt incredible much, feeling almost blind! And the strong feeling of need for food and drink made only matters worse. There was alot more issues he could count up, but simply knowing that he wouldn't be knowing for a while was bad enough for him. He just stood at one spot, fighting them, with his eyes firmly shut, making facial expressions of pain as he did. Some of his paws was hanging in midair, from time to time vibrating, as the legs themselves also shook with pain from the injuries that caused his body to act in the way it did. But nonethless, he _had_ to move...

After a while of time spent fighting his pain, trying to jump with one of the hind legs and draging the other with him as he tried to walk, he also began to feel how the right side of his face was begining to feel horrible. It was gaving out such an ache that anyone would've fainted at the instant they would have felt it! He used his mask to press it against the spot where it hurt and kept it like that during the entire journey.

Sadly - that wasn't enough of the troubles he still had to face. Now he also needed to travel! Being overloaded by stress and suffering, he began to feel that he couldn't stand it anymore, so...

His eyelids closed yet again, normally this time, and he raised his head - the pain was now getting too much for him. He slowly opened his jaw. Wordless. Nothing came out, nothing could be heard. He had already fainted, standing. The body then fell down into the grass.

* * *

By the time he woke up, it had already changed to the evening. This didn't make matters worse, however. Being a fox, the catlike canine, Slagar could still see through the darkness with his split pupiled eyes as it had been day. But feeling so weak, he couldn't keep the focus on for too long. If he was healthy, the darkness wouldn't be a problem at all. Infact, it would've been an advantage. 

Unfortunately for Slagar, this fox wasn't healthy yet... He tried to stand up on all his four again, but that failed again, too. It seemed that he was forced to crawl. His confidence was so great, however, that nothing was going to stop him.

He laid himself down on his tummy. His fronts legs did it's best to keep the fox standing, as good as they could. After that he tried his hinds. Even if they were in a lot worse condition then his front ones, he had to use them as support, to keep the weight and pressure balanced so he wouldn't collapse. It didn't go well, but at least he was moving. That's what mattered for him.

His spirits and strenght of will what was kept him moving. Not the poison, not anymore...Neither his lust for revenge. He had totally forgotten it. This time, it was the same strenght of will to survive and move on that made him stay alive after the loss of his mother...

Slagar was moving. It did not go well, but he was infact moving. One of the hinds were hanging in the air and so was one of his front paws, but tried to walk with it as often as he could, when his other legs had to make a small jump, because of the limping, on every other step he took.

The fox was searching the best he could manage. Not all too far away, though it had taken him forever, he had discovered the shaft where there once had hung a very old wooden bridge over it. Several leaps away from it there was a pond of some sort. This is where his old group had made their last break before Slagar had taken his resting. His eyes slightly went up  
at the sight of water.

He made his way towards it, trying to get there as fast as he could, for he was completelly dry! If he knew how, he would kill to get it. When he had reached the pond, slightly jumping towards it, which made his rear look a little bouncy when he got there, he carefully laid down his legs and paws to rest. This kept him steady while he was getting that big drink. The paw, that had hanged in midair on his way here, was resting on the ground now, but some of it still had to avoid being pressed down against ground.

Besides the injured paw, only one leg couldn't fully be put down on the ground. It was the hind leg one, still hanging a bit above ground, which made his laying shape of himself look really awkward. He took a weak grip on his mask, the same paw that he had used to press the mask against the spot where the head had hurt, and dropped it next to him. He now stood before the water and his mouth went open.

The tounge of his was going slightly up and down as it hung from it. Finally he could taste the cerulean beauty... He caught more and more water with his tounge, but for some reason he didn't drink it fast. Even if it had seemed that he had been about to die from thirst, he still didn't lap it up as quickly as one would think, for even from doing that, the pain had stopped him from doing!

His state was terrible. Both in mind and physical. His tounge lapped up even more water, and to his relief, he was getting a little more relaxed the longer he slayed his thirst.

As he was there, lapping up and swallowing the water from the pond, he slightly caught, from the corner of one of his eyes, what seemed to be a silhouette of someone It was hiding from view, behind some of the stones that laid around the pond area. He stopped in the middle of his drinking, getting the tounge stuck and it's tip was slightly visible sticking out from outside his muzzle.

He took a closer look on who it was. He couldn't quite make it out, but he did see that whoever it was, it was drinking from behind it's hiding place! Slagar continued his watching of this fascinating sight, while he tried to guess what it was that he had discovered. He thought he had seen the animal having the same kind of fur type and markings as the ones he had, but even that he wasn't really sure on either. All he saw was so blurry and only one of the eyes could get a clear view of what he saw. It all seemed to be happening so fast, but for him it felt like he was experiencing it in slow motion.

The animal on the other side, just like he had done, soon saw a glint of someone on another side of the pond. Just a few short leaps away! The difference was, Slagar was fully visible, so the other animal, unlike him, got a shock of the fact that there was someone who had seen her! She, being a vixen, and normally shy in nature when not in danger, quickly went out of sight, hiding behind the stones. But at the same time she was kind of interested by the idea to see who it was. Somehow, and she didn't like it, she seemed to enjoy the risk of that chance. It felt like some kind of a love game...

It's quite rare to see someone being out here, she thought. And how could I miss both his scent and not have heard him coming? That means he must had came here before I did..., or else I wouldn't have missed any kind of sounds! But... not catching his smell, that's strange... Unless I arrived to this place in tailwind. No less, I got to get more carefull so that this mistake never happens again...

Slagar tried to take a closer look. Now when he had seen it, he wanted to know what it was. He had to see what it was. As he was walking through the pond, but only getting his fur wet halfway up to his tummy, he suddenly got the pain in his head again.

It hurt as much as if he had been cut all over his body and then bored down by arrows! In difference to the first fainting, this time he got out a short and pained whimpering sound. A whine escapes his throat, before all his four legs failed him and made him fall down on his side, at the aqua coloured water beneath him. When she, the vixen, saw this, her mood changed from afraid and curious to shocked and curious. As he laid there in the water, the vixen sprinted over to the fallen fox.

_The only thing he remembered before he passed out,  
was a view of a female form hurrying over to him. While a voice deep inside of him, not heard nor remembered by Slagar, was calling..._

_"Mother..."_

_"...please..."_

_"...come...help...I need you..."_

* * *

_Mattimeo: Slagar the Cruel & General Ironbeak is made by Brian Jacques._

_A Fox's second Chance – Sonny._


	3. Mysterious female

_Final remake, Chapter II – Mysterious Female_

"Hello? Please, do you hear me? No, please, wake up! Please!"

These were the first words Slagar heard when he began to get his consciousness back. He couldn't remember anything of the things that had happend the moment after he had fainted in the pond, due to the extreme pain he had felt. Nothing. At least not something that made sense. There was nothing more he remembered from that time, except, a form of someone that had stood on the other side of the pond before him (or rather, which Slagar didn't seemed to have realized, him before her). The vixen had seen the male fox. For the time being, that was the only difference between them. Another detail would be that he hadn't yet got a view of what SHE was for some kind of animal.

"Please, you, I want you to get up!"

The vixen that had to be somewhere close was pleading for him to get back to life. Was this also the first time someone had ever cared for him to be alive?

"Pretty please?"

His eyes slowly and weakly went up, seeing everything in a blurry view. He could see that something was sitting on all it's four ontop of him, lightly pressing down with half of it's weight on him. Just sitting there. He himself was laying on his side, as all the legs, the tail and head all spread out on a vixen 'resting spow'. He nearly didn't caught some of the words she tried to reach him with. Unfortunately he didn't stay awake for long. He fell back into a slumber. Too much pain, too much tiredness, too weak, too everything to stay awake.

* * *

Yet again, he seemed to have appeared at a new location.

When he realised where he was, which didn't take that long this time, he saw that he was back at the moment and location just before he had died! Confused, he tried to take control over his twisted minds that were messing around with him from the insides. Totally clueless, he grabbed his head and bore his claws into the fur there, almost felt like he was about to reach skin.

"Slagar!"

He heard some voices, which were shouted towards him. It came from the Redwallers! Now he couldn't understand a thing, but he did know what he had to do and what was about to happen to him. He was frightened! Why are they rushing towards me with weapons? he thought. Why do they want _me_ dead! I don't remember a thing! Why do I have to die for? Though he didn't remember anything, he still realized, which wasn't difficult at all to figure out for this fox, that he had to do something. Strangers wanted him, which seemed to be most obvious, killed...

Though he felt he had no reason tofight, he still had to do something to stay alive! Escaping seemed to be the most obvious, but seeing their speed, he quickly changed his mind. Even if he did manage to escape, Slagar thought that they would still be looking for him. He had to find a sollution. Now! When he looked down the steep hill he saw a weapon, a bolas, which had killed the rat kid stuck in it.

He could see the warriors rushing towards him, with their weapons drawn. He dashed to the weapon as fast as his legs could carry him. He came leaping over Vitch's corpse and grabbed after his weapon, not wanting to die by whoever was threatening his very chance to continue living!

The other animals that had stood right behind the warriors, before they rushed towards the top of the hill with its rock, were now following after the three, which were soon engaged in a short but horrible struggle about to take place at the near top of the steep hillside. The two warriors were not far away from the fox now.

Slagar succeeded in taking back his weapon that had been tightly twirled around the rat and now he had released it from him! Acting on instinct, he threw it above his head and began spinning it to an incredible speed. Just as the warriors had reached the near top of the hillside, now standing almost next to where Slagar held his ground, he let out a growl and exposed his teeth, snarling at the attackers, ears fully peaked down

Then something struck inside his head…

* * *

Slagar's eyelids went up as fast as lightning and the eyes were staring out into nowhere. At the same time, he had tried to raise himself up with one very quick movement, making the sitting vixen let out a startlet shriek and almost fall off! The fox didn't manage to get up, he was still lying on his side, nose pointing in the same direction as his' legs. Before the sudden awakening, the vixen had been sitting in that direction as his nose were pointed, but now she had leaped up and now stood up on her four behind him, slightly shivering and breathed a little.

Now when he was fully awake, he could where he was. He had been lying down in some sort of nap spot, a resting place, which looked to be located in a fox's or vixen's den, dug out from the ground.

Ground? There had been a den here? It couldn't be that he had just came to a completely different place and not old Loemhedge? No, impossible. It must've been located away from travellers to find, covered and hidden in a very good way. But, the questions wasn't how - but who. Who did this? Why is he here and why had he came here?

He now noticed that a vixen was right beside him. She climbed over him and sat down infront of him, like she had done the whole time before his second awakening. Now he was confused. How should he react? Kindly and ask, keep on being quiet and settle back or… Well, he realized, that the smart choice would to simply wait and see. In the meantime, he could prepare himself for any kind of question that the vixen could decide to ask him about. But in reality; Slagar was the one with the questions. After a long time since it last happend during his life, it seemed like he was about to become the one who asks the questions!

"Hi there…," the vixen spoke out a short moment after she had managed calmed herself from the sudden - and fast - awakening. "I was wondering when you would get up. I was so worried when you fainted down the water pond, so, I took you here so I could check you out."

Slagar kept on hearing her out.

"Sadly, it doesn't look like anything on or in your body is fresh. You were, and still are, completely worn out," the vixen sounded very caring and also worried for him when she spoke. Like a Redwall abbot. "Poor you, you should consider yourself very lucky to even breathe!"

The male fox tried to chuckle at the thought, but he soon felt that he couldn't manage to get any words out! He felt pain even if he only tried to move the slightest with any part of his body! The vixen put on paw at him, lowered her head, and used both the paw and the head to slowly and carefully push him back down, then she made sure that he laid down the way he had rested not too long ago.

Then the vixen used her front teeths and pulled a sheet over to him, then she raised her head so that the sheet was hanging from her mouth, and when it was directly over the side-lying fox, she dropped it, and it fell neatly over the male. Now the fox was resting under the sheet and tried to curl himself up into a ballshape, with his head resting in his tail.

"I strongly recommend that you take a rest, while I'll do my best to make you new."

He really wanted to. But his old habits to stay awake even when awfully tired were hard to let go of. He tried to fight it and soon he rested his aching head on the soft and comfortable cotton and feather made pillows nearby instead. He tried to ask how she would do that, but that would only hurt him more if he did, so he wished that she tell him sooner sooner or later. Speak of the Dark Forest - she did.

"Don't have any worries, I'm a healer vixen in learning," she added with a cute smile on her face and then gave her "patient red fox" a light stroke on the side of his neck, near his cheek, which made him move back deeply into his tail again. The sight made her giggle to herself and couldn't help herself from giving him some pats and a last stroke on his head before she left her den.

Slagar had loads of things going on inside of him. He was specially curious about those last things that had happend. Healer? Some kind of Medic-Vixen? Where had he heard that before? The more he tried to figure it out, the more worried he became of what the answers could reveal. The more he failed to find the answers, the more scared he got of whatever he couldn't remember! Did he really want to know? Why couldn't he remember? What could it be? What exactly had he forgotten? Was he just trying to remember something that he really didn't even known?

Tired of it all, he tried to get some more sleep. But then, there was also this dream… What was going on? What was about to happen with him?

He was terrified of himself.

* * *

_Mattimeo: Slagar the Cruel & General Ironbeak - Brian Jacques._

_A Fox's second Chance – Sonny R. Fox_


	4. Live and learn, Part I

_Chapter III - Live and Learn - Part I_

The other animals that had stood right behind the warriors, before they rushed towards the top of the hill with its rock, were now following after the three, which were soon engaged in a short but horrible struggle about to take place at the near top of the steep hillside. The two warriors were not far away from the fox now. Slagar succeeded in taking back his weapon that had been tightly twirled around the rat and now he had released it from him! Acting on instinct, he threw it above his head and began spinning it to an incredible speed. Just as the warriors had reached the near top of the hillside, now standing almost next to where Slagar held his ground, he let out a growl and exposed his teeth, snarling at the attackers, ears fully peaked down.

Then something struck in his head…

_"These are not the ones that have been your enemies. Never has, never will. Not ever…"_

That's when he realised it. These vermins could not be the ones that he hated. But he was unsure. Who could it then be?

No time to think or wonder, not even guess. He did one of the most unexpected things they could've ever seen from Slagar. He dropped the Bolas!

Seeing this, the incoming fighters got shocked, but they thought that something wasn't right, so they remained prepared. They stopped rushing. Even Orlando. Instead of running, the two slowly walked over to the fox who was just standing there, unarming himself and just standing still and silent, without doing anything even near the word known as "threat" at all. The other animals had also seen this and were now hurrying over, curious of what was happening now.

Matthias was the closest one to Slagar at that moment. Nearing him, but still having the sword steady and ready to strike if it was a trick. But it wasn't.

"What the…," Orland thought out loud. The warrior mouse heard what his comrade had whispered to himself and thought the same thing himself. When Matthias was standing right before the fox, he looked at him right into the mask, where he could see that he had his eyes closed. He was just there; making relaxed and easy and slow breathtakes through it. Feeling a little safer, he unsheathed his blade into its sheath.

"Slagar, what are you up to now?" Matthias asked the fox before him. "what are you doing? Is this a trick? Because if it is, you will have no chance. You are completely alone. But if you aren't…," before he could finish his sentence, the fox turned to the bottom of the hillside and began walking down from it, not hardly listening to the voices that were calling for him.

The badger male, Orlando, went over and stood beside his friend. He could see that he was as confused as all the others were, all looking at this strange event taking part right in front of their noses.

When the fox was at the bottom of the hill, he sat down. Matthias and more then the half of the others wanted to take the daring chance to see what Slagar was doing or feeling so strange about. The ones closest to Slagar could now see when he suddenly lowered his head. A short while after that, his fur seemed to be alive as his vibrations made it move. It looked like as if he was hurt and was crying! Now all of the animals were interested in what was going on.

The ones that came first to Slagar went around him so that they could take a look at him from the front. After a while, he noticed the arriving sound of extra paws heading over to him. He didn't care. Maybe, just maybe, they could help him. Or something else that was worth his time?

Everyone maybe didn't have as good view of him as the ones standing in the front rows, but they could certainly see what was going on.

"How are you feeling, foxey?" asked one of the small ones of the former slaves, one who had heard about Slagar or met him.

He looked in the direction of where the speaker came from. He tried to hold in an anguished whine and pain, if someone could see it through the mask, could be seen in his face. They could see that his eyes were trying to look relaxed and calm, almost friendly! He was no threat at all now. But the warriors still stayed prepared for any kind of trick. He tried to give a small smirk towards the young one but spoke towards the rest of them, too.

"Nothing," he said out loud, but still quiet. "nothing's wrong, all is fine." After saying that, he changed position and was now lying flat on his tummy in the grass beneath him, each paw beside his head, which is looking straight forwards. "actually, I think there is…"

Now it was Matthias and his son, Mattimeo, that were having questions.

"What's wrong, Slagar the Cruel?" Matthias asked the fox lying on the ground.

After hearing that they really wanted to know, he began to wonder if he was going to tell them. How would they react? Bad? Good? Extreme? How could they possible take such a thing, specially if it came from someone like him? He took the chance and decided to tell all of the animals that were waiting on an answer from him, however it came out. He could only wish for the best.

He struggled to find words. All thoughts were now overworking inside of him. Finally, he started to stammer out the words. One at the time, one by one.

"I…I am…I'm sorry," he weakly told them his words. "I've been wrong…all this time. This entire time. You…you weren't the ones…I…I took revenge on the wrong…the wrong…," Slagar was now looking like if he was about to die of sadness. "Someone. Someone... or something, I can't remember. But, ...she or he, destroyed it all…my entire life became ruined and ended up as a big mess! I was just an innocent kit... ended up as the villain. ...All this time, ...trying to avenge on the creatures ...who had never had anything to do with it! What did I do!"

* * *

The dream hadn't lasted long. But long or short, it was mysteriously strange. What was making him get these…visions? He put his paw on his temple and rubbed it, pulling the paw downwards as he moved it against his head. He felt that it had to have been the head, messing him up or was it something else? Something deep inside him it wanted to let him know? Something he had forgotten, maybe?

Without more thinking about that, he tried to raise up and walk a little. He had been lying at the same spot quite long, he thought. But when he tried to get up, he felt his body hurting itself, and it hurt like a stabb from a sharp and pointy object, like a dagger or a sword.

"Urrrg…," he grunted to himself, feeling his pain still being around. It took a good minute until he finally sat on the bed. The next step was to stand up and start moving. He put his first paw on the ground and then tried to stand with it. The damage he had sustained was terrible! When he finally stood, he was limping and almost dragged himself with his other hind leg, and went out through the tunnels of the den the vixen lived in.

His hind legs and the front ones felt almost broken and his front paws were so scratched and torn themselves that it was almost a miracle that the claws and the fingers were still intact. And his head, disturbing, added more problem to his movement. It was hard to move and his head had his senses not working properly. It felt better then last time I was awake atleast, he thought out aloud to himself, for only him to hear, as he struggled to move around.

It was dark inside the den, except for one thing: She had left some very tiny lights here and there, in the far corners of the room he had rested in. Certainly, she had thought of him. Slagar thought that she had probably let these lights, lit up with a low light, so that he could rest in peace while she, wherever she went, could do her thing. Whatever it now could be. The way she had used the lights were perfect for one who is trying to relax. To think that someone is helping me, he thought. And she haven't even been ordered to! What's she up to?

Yet, even if it was dark and he could hardly see, he still found what seemed to be an exit. He crawled through it and took a peek of the outside, by sticking out his head through it, to try to figure out where he was located.

First he couldn't see a thing, something was covering his view. He hadn't even bothered to put on his mask before he started walking, which he had decided to do shortly after his awakening, because he had felt that it wasn't necessary for what he had planned to do. So it wasn't the mask.

He looked around, his head still being the only thing visible of him from outside the vixen's den. He decided not to bother about it too much and crawled out of the den with the rest of his body, and was soon walking away from it. When he was walked, he really wondered where he was. Even if it was night, it couldn't be THIS dark, or could it? And he could see light coming from the horizon? He walked a little more. After a few minutes he reached something that looked like a huge tree trunk. Then he realized what had been covering the sky. A gigantic spruce!

"NOW I know where I am…Mossflower's Ruler!" Slagar said under a breath. Staring at the spruce, he had wasted some minutes of his walk. At least now he knew where he were. When he was finished, he started limping away again.

After what seemed like forever, he was nearing the fallen bridge again. And the pond. Now it was getting dark for real. He thought that he needed to take a break and headed for the water, where he had stopped to take a break earlier some other day. As he was nearing it, he could see something that he hadn't counted on. The vixen!

_...End of Live and Learn part I_

* * *

_We know the copyrights by now, hehe. Brian Jacques stuffness._

_A fox's third chance, the fanfiction - Made by Sonny R. Fox, though._

(The chapters before have been remade again, both to be more realistic, seeing his state didn't really add up to the seriousness of his situation, I thought. And secondly, to work out with how the rest of the story will add up, because I storyboarded it to see where it was going, and when I was done, I felt a need to remake them to fit the story as whole. So that's why I remade them again. And the reason I cut is because of stress relief. I got many projects, my own, going on at once. Shortening them makes you get chapters much quicker and makes me relax from, yes, stress relief, because the projects I always seem to have myself doing for years. Until later! And thanks for making me write again, by telling me! And it's good training, hehehe.)


	5. Live and learn, Part II

_Chapter III - Live and Learn - Part II_

He used his stealth to get near one of the stones undetected. So that he could spy on her and find out what she does. He slipped past through the shadows that came from the stones and was now hiding between one of them, looking at the vixen.

The vixen was, yet again as it seemed to be, drinking from the pond. And just like his first meeting with the female, she was covering herself as good as she could, out of sight from anything and anyone, while she drank the water. Why did she have to hide? It had been evening and the sun was falling through the clouds with an orange coloured shine. Then everything went black. Now it was dark, the night, but she was still hiding. Why? Isn't this land completelly empty, as far as all your senses could take you? That even if you hid, you would still spot anything miles away before it would?

He leaned a little closer towards the shape of a vixen, who was still drinking from the pond filled with clear and tasteful water. But this wasn't going to last long.

As he was nearing her more and more, the easier it became for her to hear something that seemed to sound like a raspy and hoarse breathing, that seemed to touch her in the neck and send a shiver all the way to her tail tip. Feeling that she couldn't be alone, she forced herself to take a look behind her. When she moved her head she saw what seemed to be…smoke? Someone was there! Now when she looked in the right direction, now with her whole body turned, she noticed more of that strange breathing smoke. Someone was indeed with her, and close!

She wanted to stay quiet, afraid that someone could find her if she didn't do so. But the situation was already critical, cover blown, so it wouldn't matter anymore anyway.

"...h-hi?" she asked out under her breath, feeling herself standing in a near crouched stance, with all of her legs. She could hear herself stammer, "H-H-Hello? Is s-s-some-someone the...there?"

The vixen tried to stay brave but her self-confidence failed her. Slagar now knew that she was undoubtly looking towards his location. He pushed himself against the stone he was hiding behind, and waited for a plan to appear inside his calculating brain. She wasn't a treat nor enemy, so what was he doing this for? Realizing, almost feeling dumb to have actually thought otherwise, it was safe to go and meet her. He calmly walked out from behind the boulders.

"So this is where you went, 'fair lady'?" Slagar childishly played with her as he walked towards her, and with a smirk on his face as he had spoken and as he continued towards her. Seeing that it had only been her 'patient', she let out a sigh of relief and held one paw at her breast.

"Ah! It was only you...!" the vixen relaxed from her tension. "I think I got startled by you! You see, there has never been so many walking above this ground here. 'Specially not with good intentions," she added.

Slagar nodded back in agreement. "I can almost say the same about this place. However, it didn't sprout so much as it does now the last time I was here. Wonder what could've made it grow like this all of a sudden?" he rubbed the underside of his pointy jaw with one paw, making himself look like he's thinking.

"Have you been here before?" she asked the male. "I've never seen ANYONE all this down south. When was that? It sounds like something that occured before I was even born."

He made a small smirk of slyness. "Nope, wrong, my guess is around a week"

Her eyes went up and she tilted her way. In a cute way. And with her black ears pointed. "Really? I had no idea. But, of course, it maybe ain't so strange after all. I haven't left my den in ages, it seems!"

Slagar leaned a little with his head himself. "Why so long?"

"Because it wasn't the same then as it is now," the vixen answered him. "I too also wonder what may have made it grow this fast all of a sudden…"

Slagar thought for a minute. Then he found a theory he wanted to question the vixen about. "May the fall of some old fortress have something to do with it? For were I passed through, there was only mere ruins left of it."

The vixen stared at him with wide eyes, slightly open mouth and flat ears, like if she had been frigthened by him, having herself in the same nearly-crouched stance again. "Malkariss! Brrr!" her gaze went down, so did her eyelids, until she was done shivering to herself. Then she was backwith her old 'stance'. "He didn't deserve old Loemhedge! Using poor innocent forest animals for such duties? Hah! I hate him! He got what was coming for him, same thing for the slavers that helped him and all of those other serv---"

She was cut off by Slagar, who was putting up his paw as a sign of that he had a word to share in the subject. "Slavers, you say?" she nodded back, at the same time having this very disgusted expression all over herself. "Yeah."

"I knew them. Actually, I was even there." Her eyes went wide and she almost dropped her jaw.

"You!" she gasped. "How? As what, prisoner?" she had herself near-crouched again, with her ears flat down for yet another time. "Aw, is that why you got those serious wounds all over your body? You poor thing!" she almost went into crying, now almost laying on the grass, as she imagined how it could have been for the fox. But to her shock, he shook his head!

"No…," he said, and she could see that he felt saddened by what he wanted to tell her about. He had started to get to know her more and more, and he was thinking if it was okay to tell HER about it? "I think that. I was the slaver. And the leader of them all…"

She stood there in shock. "Wha...? No..., you...? You can't be serious! What...what have you done? Are telling me that…no, don't…don't tell me you did it…no...no I don't believe you have...it can't be you..." The vixen was laying in the grass now, head lowered. He saw something on the vixen he hadn't seen since seasons before. Tears? Crying? Laying there, sobbing? He couldn't remember when each wrong choice took place during his lifespan, but he imagined them to have been negative. What mattered now for Slagar, however, was on how he was going to do about the vixen. Feelings deep within himself told him that he felt for the poor vixen. That he had to console her! Something told him that he had to be with her, that he needed little vixen!

Slagar stood there, watching as the poor vixen cried on. Something inside of him took over, and forced his body to lay down infront of her, and tried to console her! If he had known, it had been his instincts controling him.

"Young Vixen, I-I'm sorry...," he started. "I can't remember anything about my past, about what I have done, so I really don't know anything no more. But I assure you. If you believe that it is wrong, I believe you! Then it couldn't have happend. For me, the fox is the grandest creature on this world!" he lay his head flat on the grass, one paw beside it, looking humble and sad for her as he continued to console her. "So I would be honoured to learn from you, to become yours." Slagar didn't know that his last words had been taken as a proposal for courtship by her!

Her head rose up and she looked at Slagar. "…R-sniff-Really? You mean that…?" a final tear and her voice revealed that she had been deeply touched, and when he shut his eyes, smiled in a way that made her feel warm, and noded, she forced forward a smile of great endearment towards the fox and the tear fell when she winked with her eyes, which couldn't stop to look at him. "Indeed. I believe you are the right vixen. Am I right?" She couldn't stop herself from melting the longer her 'courter' kept on talking with her, in her point of view, with his innocent way of doing it!

"Yes…yes you are!" she agreed. "I am speaking from my heart as I promise you this. I promise..." she closed her eyes and tilted her head to the side, then lowered it as she stretched the head to reach the side of Slagar's head as she gave him a few passionate licks from the tip of her now warm tounge, and Slagar had shivered at the sudden act of affection, and for a second he had been taken with surprise by it!

"Well that's great," he answered. "You will make a great mate to me and I thank you for your understanding. I am greatly pleased and you'll have my deepest regards, vixen. Thank you for everything you've done to me."

"Yes, yes, a great mate you will be..." she had almost whispered, and were now done with those few licks, but her head was still held and located the same way afterwards. And Slagar had no idea of what he had gotten himself into! After a short while of silence, she let out a low content murr. She thought of her past, and of what the fox she liked had recently told her. She could only remember hearing such words since very, very long ago. Soon after, also soon after the murr was over, she began to make a purring sound as she crawled her way over to lay herself right next to him. And as close as she could! She lay sideways, back beside his left side, her head resting on the male's shoulders.

Slagar just lay were he was during all of her acts, the whole time surprised by the sudden behavior! He took it as it was. Now when it had turned out this way, he decided to leave it as it was. She surely was a mysterious vixen! The things he had said to her were true - that he didn't know himself anymore.

It was time to start a-new, start over with his life and at the same time try to remember how his childhood and the rest of his life had been turned out as it had. But he didn't remember, so the vixen being his only aid was surely the greatest thing he had accepted for now. He gladly took her in and started to feel new found or forgotten, long lost feelings coming back to him, so he leaned his head to meet with hers. Their tails had met and placed themselves over eachother.

During the end of that day and the begining of another, small amounts of snowflakes slowly fell down at them as the moon shone at them. The two foxes spent their first night lying together under that moon, visible that starlit night. Close, very close.

One thing was for sure; this was not just one of those moments that would only last for the night. No. He knew that this would have lasting consequences, lasting for the rest of his entire life. Beginning here...right now, at this moment, this instant. If he only knew what he was actually talking about!

Not until now, Slagar the Fox was really back to life as a whole new animal!

* * *

-_You know the copyrights by now._

-_Fiction written by Sonny R. Fox, now added together with a fox name! A-son. A-soni could work, too, for some reason I don't know why._

-_Sorry for the delay (because this second part was actually done the moment part I was send!), but during these recent days, a certain book have made my life awakend and I found my true and inner self! __See yarf the next chapter!_


	6. Unknown love affair

_Chapter IV - Unknown Love-affair – Part I_

When the morning came, the land was covered with a thin layer of snow. The snow was so new and pure that if walked on, even ran on, it wouldn't make any sounds. It was also that soft, that you couldn't possibly be bothered by it, whether you travelled on it, or even laid on it! When the foxes woke up, they would find out that they would be the first to have touched it. The vixen of the foxes was the first one to awake.

Slagar's cape, except for their pelts, had kept them warm during the sudden snowfall that had came down falling during the night, which they had been outside sleeping next to each other during. When the vixen had woke up, her first thought to appear in her mind, was of her partner. She had recently got him, because of that the vixen had misunderstood one of Slagar's answers. So now the fox had gained a mate, without even realizing it!

Today, she thought as she watched her mate which still slept right beside her, she wanted to gather as many ideas as possible, about what she mostly wanted to do together with her mate. The risk of forgetting to do any of her plans was not an option for the vixen. She wanted to do as much as it was possible to do. She wanted to do Everything with her mate! Even mate.

She loved the thought of being a mommy, and to raise a litter together with a male who she would spend her entire life with. She was a little curious about if she could manage her fox to share her feelings with her about this, and wondered if it had ever crossed his mind sometime too, and maybe if they went as far as her's did. When she had watched him long enough, having licked him with joy whenever her dreams had felt like a possibility, she began pulling gently at his ear, trying to get him to wake up.

Usually, Slagar had always been ready to wake up at Anything when he had still been a slaver, and that habit had now, though also forgotten, been weakened by the time he had been "off-Slagar". Mostly due to the event he had fell down and hurt himself seriously, but partly also because of his time spent with some fox company, which he hadn't had since seasons, as it seemed!

It took a while, but after some time she had succeeded, and he was starting to move slightly in his sleep. When she had gone at it long enough, he had let out a silent but long yawn and stretched himself. The vixen had thought he would stretch out where he lay, but instead he had rose himself up to stand! First he had stretched by lowering his front and pull back, then lowering his back and stretching his front. When he was done, he switched to a sitting pose! This was not what she hoped for!

The vixen wanted to get some attention, for he was acting like if he hadn't taken any notice of her! She crawled over with one pull with her body, now turned over to lie on her tummy, and used her head to stretch and reach for her desired spot on her fox. She reached the lower parts of one of his hunched hinds, and then stuck her nose and whole muzzle into the fur there, then nibbling and licking him, both done passionately.

This got his attention, and his head jerked around and stared down at what was bothering him. When Slagar saw what it had been, he let out a sigh.

"What is it?"

She stopped, and turned only her head to look at him, head rose to look right into his face with a cute smile on her face and eyes showing happiness. She didn't say anything. She wanted him to take her expressions as an answer. But Slagar was still waiting on an answer and seeing that he didn't get one, he slowly turned his head back, continuing to stare towards the white horizon.

The vixen smiled to herself at this. Slagar snapped up the very quiet but short giggle she had made to herself. When she noticed, she giggled yet again, this time because that she hadn't been able to hold in the giggle which she had tried to hide when she had seen that he had turned around at her sounds!

He made a small smile, which seemed to show more confusion than happiness. She rolled over at her side, her white underside visible to Slagar, and gave him a smile.

"Why don't you join me?" she said.

Slagar sat were he was, not moving. A while later, he rose and walked over to her, then laid down next to her. The vixen rolled back to lie on her tummy, like the fox was doing, Slagar's right side meeting with her left. She looked at him, smiled, and leaned her head on him and tucked her head in as deep as she could, wherever there was space enough for her muzzle, maybe even head, to fit in and cuddle with him. He turned his head and looked at her. He let her continue, still not aware of what had made the vixen act and behave in the way she was.

His lack of sharing as much affection back to her was taken to her as "he's probably a shy male". It didn't bother her. After all, she had thought that Slagar had courted her.

Some time later, a thought hit Slagar, and he jerked his head sharply and looked at her, like if there was something on her. Soon she had realized that what she had felt while cuddling with him was because of that he wanted to tell her something, and so she ceased briefly with her nuzzlings. She looked at him. He had the look of…shock?

"What is it, dear? Something bothering you?" she said with a smile, tilting her head to endear herself to him, doing her best to make him feel comfortable enough to be able to talk with her about whatever issue he had.

"I just realized," he began. "that I didn't take my mask with me."

"And?" she said, still smiling at him.

"Aren't you bothered?"

"By what, love?" words such as 'dear' and 'love' had not been taken literally by Slagar, instead he had thought that it was the way of speaking for this vixen. He hadn't actually met anyone down here after all, and maybe there were vixens who spoke this way.

"By my face."

"Why would I, hon?" she said, still smiling gently at him.

"Well, maybe you are used by now, but what about when we saw each other yesterday? You Did get startled."

She smiled wider now. "Yes, because of you, but not by your face."

"Why not?" now it was Slagar's turn to tilt his head.

"Well…maybe it's because I'm learning to be a healer (and because she wanted the knowledge when she had a litter to take care of) and so I have to be used to those sort of things. And I didn't get bother by you, oh no! How could I?"

Slagar made a small grin. "Heh, one would have guessed if remembered... I had forgotten that aspect. Besides, you were probably prepared when you had seen my state when you had me in your den."

Suddenly, there was a lick, and Slagar's head jerked back to reality, or most probably shock and curiosity. "Luckily you are getting quite better now!" the vixen said.

"You say?"

"Yes!" She had closed her eyes briefly and smiled. She was also waging her tail now. When she opened her eyes, she was the one to start the subject.

"It may also be because of the snow, if I would have a guess. Your fur may be increasing, not only because of my aid, but also because of the season! So if you are very fortunate, your winterfur will kick in and in a matter of days you will have a pelt as good as new!"

Slagar reacted at that, realizing that it had been snowing. "Winter's coming?"

"Yes, love." She couldn't help to let out a wide smile at his cuteness. He was so cute when he was clueless and every time he went off-guard, she thought.

"Then I must find some cover," he rose up and was going to walk away when he had finished his sentence. "now I got to find somewhere that suits my needs."

"No wait, there's no need for that!" the vixen almost rose up herself, but her hinds remained on the ground. "We'll just use my den!"

He turned his head around and stopped in his movements. The question he had was much unexpected – for her. "Can I trust you?" Those words got the vixen shocked, almost saddened in her voice, yet, with a hint of "touched".

"But of course you can, dear! You don't need to be afraid around Me! I'm a simple vixen kindly sharing her den, there's no need to be worried!"

"Afraid" was the last thing Slagar felt he would feel when around her. And he was certainly not worried. Worried? By what? Why would he be worried?

"Come on, dear, lets go back there, together!" she had rose up fully now, waging her tail anxiously. The same feeling was visible on her face. Actually, anxious was visible on the whole her!

Slagar turned around, and as soon as he got near her, she too turned around and headed to her den. And so they were walking back. Together.

* * *

-The usual copyrights:-

A-son (A-soni as nick?) and BJacques.

This chapter was done fast, I can expect that the next one will, too. Funny thing, the moment I came to the part I was writing about snow, a heavy snowfall fell down!  
See ye'rf 'til later, when I write again. And your reviews are greatly appreciated.  
Take care fur now.

_A-son the fox_


	7. Unknown love affair, courting continued

_Chapter IV - Unknown Love-affair - Courting continued_

As they were walking towards her den, Slagar had reminded himself of that he hadn't had anything to drink, so they had turned back. The vixen had been thirsty too.

First day of snowing, the pond had fortunately not yet been frozen too thick. They were able to lap. The water had though been very cold, but refreshing at least.

While they lay beside each other by the pond to lap the water, Slagar turned his head to look at the vixen. When she noticed that her fox wasn't drinking, but looking at her, she too had turned her head to look to her side. With briefly shut eyes she smiled at him, knowing he had tried to get a glimpse of her. Slagar had turned back to lap the water but she kept looking some more. Then she went back to lap again.

A long while afterwards they were done, taking just a few licks at the pond when they felt for it. As they lay there, Slagar had no other thing on his mind then to hurry back to her den. He mostly wanted to ignore everything, get to a spot where he could stay hidden for a very long time if necessary, and wait for the fur to grow back. He had no other plans. So laying here felt very stressing somehow, like if he was wasting valuable time. And for some strange reason, he thought, the vixen seemed to enjoy being where she was, just lying here, doing nothing! That what was Slagar thought, but he was wrong. Just spending her time with the fox was more then enough reason for her to lie where she was! But he didn't know that. To get other things on his mind, to relieve the stress-like feelings and to get rid of an urge, he tried to think of a subject.

Would it be a comment? A suggestion? Question? After some time, he got one. Slagar turned his head to look at her, and made his question.

"Do they call you something?" he asked.

She flipped her body from lying on the tummy to the back. First she moved her head to the right and against the ground as the body was rolled over in the opposite direction until her white underside faced the sky. Very catlike. And she looked at him. Smiled at him, and probably also because of her own selves' playfulness.

"Yes, I have a name," she said as she had her smile. "But let me tell you something first. My siblings in our parents' litter thought of a very cute way to make up names. We were taught to _find them out_ by _ourselves_! I don't remember very much, but I think it had something to do with when, well…when we…_felt_…that the time would be right."

Her story had kept Slagar listening with some interest. After the story, they had rose up and were about to walk to her den. The vixen headed off first. Slagar would be right about to begin walking himself, but a question had kept him standing.

"So," he asked. "when did you know when it was time for it?"

"Now" she said and turned her whole body around.

Slagar tilted his head curiously. "Now?"

"Yes, now" she said with a nod and smile.

"Why now?"

"You know why" she said with an adorable smile and had turned only her body around, so the way she looked backwards at him with turned head, and with that smile, was…!

Any fox would've felt extra red and warm by it. Some of them may have even expressed it by bouncing around and looking happy by finally being loved by someone! And few of those foxes may have got excited enough to even mount her! Slagar had done neither of any.

Slagar seemed to be never going to tilt his head back to normal. He was confused by that answer. Eventually he did jerk his head back again and walked. When he got close to her, she suddenly darted off! She stopped a metre ahead. She had turned her head around in that same way again. Slagar stared at her. After a while, he shook his head, and walked again. Again, as soon as he had been close enough, any fox would have only been able to get a few licks and sniffs at her before she had darted off! Same thing again. The look of the vixen and the look of the fox.

When he had done it the third time, and she had darted off again, Slagar wanted to know what she was doing, and so he had been forced to increase his speed. This just kept the vixen dart off sooner! The pace increased and it got more and more intense! The vixen's playful game had worked. She had wanted him to get into a lust chase!

That wasn't what Slagar had seen it as, though, but nonetheless, she had succeeded.

* * *

They were nearing the den. Longer into the game she had begun to dart in other directions, and sometimes they had run into each other. Also a part of the game that's very expected to happen - and wanted. Sometimes the lust chase had been very intense and the vixen had yelped! She thought it was all great fun and she had got to tease her fox! Slagar hadn't understood what her funny teasing game had been about, though.

As she got near her den, she made a quick rush towards it, Slagar close after, and she had dived into the opening. They came through the tunnel, the vixen still yelping when it became almost too fun for her! When she got through the tunnel, she darted over to a corner and sunk down her legs, head yet raised and turned right to look at the opening. When Slagar came in and went for her, she submissively-like fell to her left and shrieked.

"Eeeek! I'm yours now!"

He fell down exhausted and his head fell beside hers, making her even more joyful. Some moments after she had her front legs around his neck, like a hug. She pulled him and licked him around his head while he tried to catch his breath. Some time after she had curled herself up to him, and she had thereafter let him do the same with her. To rest and calm down. Relax. He still breathed a little, chest heaving slightly up and down. When he had had some resting, he brought up an old subject.

"So tell me…" there was a pause. "what was it. That you had found out?"

She knew exactly what he was mentioning.

"Well, as I said. I shan't go through it all too much, so I'll tell you straight to the point. I got my name long ago, back when I lived in a forest far away. But now I have found a new name. I got the new name, if we shall be honest, yesterday night, when we slept very close to each other, the moment the moonlight hit us and small, light, soft dots of snow fell down on us." She sounded very dreamlike when she spoke. Slagar had yet caught the hints.

"And there I got my name, and I accepted it gladly." She added proudly. "Nightpaw-Softail" Slagar was fascinated.

"How does your name come to you, and why?

"To fit the situation we are in during that moment, to keep true to our feelings and natural state of that moment!" she wagged her tail.

"Sounds fascinating!" his ears perked up. "so as long that you do it in the right moment, you can get new names anytime you wish?"

"No"

"Then when?"

"When the time is right." She smiled.

Slagar was amazed. She was very mystical. He smiled back at her. This made her very happy!  
Her smile didn't change, but so did her eyes. She moved her tail to stroke the fox.  
His gaze went over to his body as he saw her soft tail moving through his fur.

"I believe you could also call me 'Cuddletail', I think."

Slagar made a smile where one side of the face seemed to do the grin itself. He was amused by her cleverness. He seemed to adore it.  
She shut her eyes and smiled back. Then she pushed her head underneath his jaw, then pushing upwards towards his face with her nose first.

"Fox, my fox." She said as she stroked her head with his now. "I want to know what I shall call out into the open when I'm in need of you."

"Oh, that's right!" his attention was turned to her (but he had certainly not missed her head stroking) and he looked almost happy when she remembered him.

"You haven't heard mine either! I'm Slagar the Cruel!"

"The…'cruel'?" she backed her head to see him full-face. "You're so friendly, why do you have such a nickname? Is it some of those fox-things to have such names because---"

"No, no, that's really what they call me, that is my name!"

"There, you said it!" she teased, smiling again, eyes closed, the tonguetip visible and a wag. "You said 'called'! I asked what your _name_ is…" she ended it with some more waging, but lost her joy when Slagar suddenly looked down! Her tail slowed down and then it was not moving anymore, ears flattened against her head and a very hurt-like look could be clearly seen in her eyes.

"…I…," Slagar was looking down, where he saw their paws met. "I…I really don't know…I don't know myself…?"

The vixen got closer then they already had been, getting themselves tucked very deep into each other, consoling him. Usually it's the male that makes them lay so close to each other that they can hardly move a paw. This case was different.

"Awww, poor thing." She started to lick, and because they were so close, it soon got very, very, warm. "There, there. I'll console you, dear. It isn't important whether you have your real name or not. For me, you will simply be Slagar! Slagar the Fox!"

Her words really tried to cheer him up the best she could. He realized that it would be dumb to try and remember when he didn't even had any clue at all, so he took her advice and forced a faint smile meant for her, telling her:

"You're right…I'm just Slagar…and no-one else."

"Good!" she embraced the fox, almost making blush. "See? You realize that you have learned something already? It is a good start! Let's teach you some more, shall we?"

Now Slagar realized that he had offered himself as her disciple!

"Well, it shouldn't hurt!"

"Ooo!" Don't _ever_ say _that_, fox!" Slagar rose up and was almost standing straight up with all fours. When she rose up, he backed! She neared him with graceful moves, with a smile that seemed to mean that she was happy to have found something tasty! Cute for a fox, but it would be danger to something really tiny. The smile was charming in some way. When she was moving the whole her turned into charming! "Let the vixen learn her own little kit the way she asks, and for your sake, you'll survive!"

Her body went down to the ground, like when a cat is about to give chase, and in the next second, she threw herself over him. They snuggled, cuddled, nuzzled and a lot of other things while struggling against each other! They were at it for a long time, sometimes rolling around as they did. And to Slagar's surprise, they _both_ had fun, enjoying each others company for a long time down in her den.

Nightpaw-Softtail's wish seemed to become fulfilled after all! She was sure of it. She was going to get a litter!

* * *

_Redwall stories by Brian Jacques & Fiction story by A-son the fox._


	8. Unknown love affair, mating

_This one is quite long:_

_Chapter IV - Unknown Love-affair - Mating_

The next days they had spent longer and longer times with each other, gotten closer to their mate more for every new day. When they drank and ate, when they were walking, and getting closer for each new day that passed or the longer their walks were lasting, they could sleep very closely burrowed into each other and sleep like that for days, as it seemed, and recently she had made him play with her more often and frequently with her! Life was great for the vixen.

One day the vixen had woke up, feeling aware of the excitement that was beginning to stir inside of her, and being much greater that day then yesterday had felt. On that day she had noticed something after she had realized that her mate had been around her:

She was giving out a very pleasant smelling fragrance and he hadn't seemed to have reacted by during the times they were awake! He must have been the greatest male in the world, she thought, if he had remained "himself" even at those times! If the aroma hadn't had any special effect on him, that usually made any male start acting in a way that wouldn't be their own normal selves, then he _must_ had to be the best male in the world! She felt very fortunate. Like the most fortunate vixen in the world, for having this luck!

Happily she had sat up and left her den with big, cute smile of her face, showing infinite happiness for the rest of the whole day.

* * *

Some days after she had woke up with an even greater stirring of excitement from her body. This day she felt warm and comfortable, feeling that she couldn't be feeling any better then this. The day after her first fragrances had came, Slagar had easier taken notice of her sudden increase of new aromas, and commented her about it when he had happened to pass by, having stopped and took a sniff to assure himself of if it had really came from his mate.

This had made her feel even better yesterday. And he hadn't seemed, like any other fox very possible would have, to have realized what was about to happen.

Maybe he would if he had knowledge of his own feelings - the feelings he would supposedly be having going on inside of him if it did what it should be doing at this time, and why it did what it did.

She was determined on showing him and teaching him about it.

And that day would be today!

Nightpaw-Softtail wanted this to be perfect and harmonic, so she wanted to prepare before he woke up and she felt that her increasing fragrance from her and warmth could easier wake him up, so she wanted to be quick and slip away unnoticed. She got up, feeling that strong warmth she had and the reason of it, same for the stirring inside her. They were very present now. She still felt comfortable with her new highly present emotions even now.

If it hadn't been for her increase of warmth over the past half week, she would have immediately been chilled by the cold that was coming from what would be a heavy winter. She walked through the snow, prioritizing in her mind on what was most important in her love-affairs agenda. First, she thought, she wanted somewhere close to their home, yet warmed by the sun. The problem was, the huge spruce was covering a lot with its huge shadow, so to get some sun they would have to travel a bit. And then it wouldn't be close to home…

As she was frowning sadly, her ears had suddenly perked up as it caught the sound of rustling leafs. That was when she remembered, that she had made a few friends in her early days, and her recent friends had been those who used the same tree, or the tree itself, to find a nice isolated home! Especially now when the rumour of Malkariss' defeat had been spread. Soon after she saw one of her old friends hurrying towards the tree, not seeming to have noticed that the vixen had appeared out from her den. She made a chirping sound to get the small critter's attention to her.

It stopped and turned around at the direction of the bird-like sound, then seeing that it was the fellow vixen that lived close to the trunk! He sat on his hinds and waved at her. She smiled back at him, briefly having her eyes shut as she wagged her tail to the sides.

"Hello, squirrel!" she said happily. When they had greeted, the vixen got straight to the point. Not for being rude, which thought she also added for him so that there wouldn't be any misunderstandings between them, but because that she was in a hurry, and she had a _good_ reason for being so!

"Certainly!" the squirrel had said after her request. He hurried away again, darting and going upwards on the trunk. The vixen sat down and looked at him going up. She thought he looked like a little fox in the size of a small claw trying to reach for the top of a fox by running and climbing a real-sized fox's tail! After a long while of waiting, the top of the huge spruce was rustling again, but this time because that they wanted to do something with it instead of simply walking at it. They were breaking the branches!

Not all too long after they had made a hole big enough for the sun to shine through, and it would last long enough for her date with her fox! They shouted to her, sounding like a joyful cheer from where she stood far down below them looking like a dot of fur, and she thanked them by calling back at them, though not too loud, for that could wake her dear. To make it easier for them to see how thankful she was, she bounced around on the ground.

"Thank you, thank you! I'll be forever grateful by your generosity! I'll never forget this!" Another cheer came from above, partly because of saying something in the line of "the pleasure is ours!" and partly because of giving her a sign of that they had caught her message. With that done, the most time demanding part of her preparing for her mating was over!

Now she just had to try the spot were she would mate, to see how it had turned out, then there would only be the waiting left! The spot had been perfect! The sun was hot and it pleasantly warmed her even more, though on her outside, which would be wonderful for Slagar when he got here! He would be so surprised! She couldn't wait - she was so excited and couldn't think of anything else than it! She couldn't wait!

Then she heard what shehad beenhoping for to hear!

* * *

When Slagar woke up he had been greeted by some of the warmth, that had warmed him while Nightpaw-Softtail had still lain next to him, and a mix of smells – though which smelt good. Pleasant, even. And it reminded him of Nightpaw-Softtail.

Cuddletail! That's when he noticed she wasn't in her den, and so he went out to try and find her. It didn't take long. He had stopped by the entrance, licked his nose to feel the direction of the wind, and then he smelled around with a raised muzzle. He caught the smell from the den not too far away from her home. He tried to call out her name and see if he got any answers. Very soon, he heard the vixen talking to him from a distance. It was calling him. Sound of great romance in her voice. Somehow that voice drew him to her location.

He believed that it wouldn't take long, so he had not clothed himself with anything, leaving mask, cape and any other miscellaneous items behind.

He spotted her resting in what seemed to be the only location under the huge shadow that wasn't stopping the sun to reach the ground! Smiling at her appearance, he walked over to her and she greeted him with a warm, small lick as he got in range, which he had got used to by now. She lay, with her head turned to look behind her when he spoke.

"Nightpaw-Softtail," he began, almost grinning as he made a small smile at her. "I see you have found yourself the best spot in the entire area of old Loamhedge! Congratulations!"

She smiled back with a warming smile when she answered. "Isn't it lovely?" He looked around and then answered.

"Yes, it is, it's quite amusing that you of all animals had the luck in getting to it first!" She shut her eyes and smiled wider.

"I have a special reason for it."

He seemed to be about to tilt his head, asking with curiousness anyhow. "Oh, what's that?"

"Because it's meant for us. Only us, alone." Her tail wagged. She rose up, with her hinds still lying down, and turned with the rest of her body. She shut her eyes fully and licked him passionately and licked him around his face. He tilted his head with curiousness.

"Really? What for?"

She stopped in her licking and opened her eyes, staring at him with her now dreamy eyes, shining with love, smiling faintly as she spoke to him, nose touching nose. "We are going to mate!"

Before he could react, she slowly stood up with the rest of her body and turned around, standing in the same direction she had first laid in when she had been waiting on him. Also how he had found her. The only difference, apart from that she was standing instead, was that she had her head slightly turned, like if she was looking to her left, using only one eye to look at him, unlike when she had moved her whole head to look at him (and most of her throat when she wanted to reach in for a lick). Slagar was confused.

"Mate? What, surely I have noticed some changes happening more frequently the longer we had get to know each other, but. Weren't you just my teacher? Mate? When did I agree on being your mate?"

She wanted to smile at his cute behaviour when he was clueless, but in a time like this she got really worried that this moment actually could be ruined very easy! Worried, she chose her words carefully not to get any misunderstandings.

"My dear, dear, love. That time ago, by the pond. Do you remember it, Slagar? That wonderful time? Didn't you ask to court me then?"

"Court you? I thought I asked you to just help me…"

Not wasting any time of looking back at the past, she spoke of what came to her mind first. "I remember you asked to be mine," this is when Slagar caught where she had taken it as a courting between foxes. "and so I did, and I got to know you more and more for each day, and I regretted every doubts for each new day that passed!"

She had that daydreaming look at her whole self again as she made a pause before she spoke again.

"Slagar? I don't think it matters anymore what happened. What's important is _now_. Surely, we got this all around because we didn't know the truth - that you didn't know that I was seeing you as my mate and that I didn't know that you probably thought that my behaviour was normal, right? But what about the feelings we felt, increasing from all the new experiences we got from each new day as we spent them together? We had them the whole time during this anyway, even with those circumstances, right? Even if our point of view turned out as it did, too? Do you realize what this mean? Do you see, Slagar? We were _in love_! We became mates as time progressed!"

Slagar knew she was right, and he had gladly accepted the truth. That's how he had felt. So this is how it was, and still being, to have been and be in love? What a feeling…

"Nightpaw…," he said after a long silence. "I'm speechless. You reached, vixen. You reached it. That's how I must have felt during all this time. So this is what I've been experiencing? Love?" A smile slowly appeared on her face, and her face was from one who has been touched to the heart and beyond the way she was looking at the fox. You could almost see a tear in her eye. "As I said, I'm speechless. But I can tell you this…"

He slowly walked up to her, standing beside her left side (which also was the side she had had her head turned), and stroking his head passionately with hers and soon she was doing the same, almost wanting to cry. "It's a wonderful feeling, and I want to experience it for the rest of my existence!"

"O, Slagar," she said with a new voice, sounding very comforting and as touched as Slagar had thought her facial expression had been showing like a message from her heart. "I don't know what to say. I was so afraid that this day would be broken. I was so scared! Sniff, I thought that, sniff, I couldn't…possible imagine what I would do if you hadn't seen it the way you did! Oh, Slagar!"

Slagar almost wanted to let a tear fall himself. "There, you don't need to anymore. I'm honest and loyal to you, you know that! I would never break your heart by something such simple as not hearing you out and then being perfectly clear and understanding of what you wanted me to know, and that I knew it fully just like you did!"

She closed her eyes and licked him, Slagar getting more hints of how warm the vixen had become. That's when he noticed that the wind was getting chilly. He had to notify her, that what the vixen had dreamt so long on to do with him, whatever it was, should be done now before it became too late. Whatever it now turned out to be. It would be a great shame if all her careful preparing, which she had used her heart to achieve with, would go to waste!

"Mate?" She stopped and opened her eyes, looking at him. "Don't forget your wish." When she remembered, she waged her tail.

"Aw, that's right! We were going to be mating now! Thank you for reminding me!"

He smiled. "No problem. So, what's mating?"

"Us!" she said and giggled.

"Um, I know that…," he added. "but…what is it?"

That was one of those things she adored with her mate. When he was clueless! It was so cute! She giggled again when she explained. "I'll tell you, dear! You should begin by mounting me, hm?" she tilted her head a little, while at the same time looking at him, with one of her cute smiles.

"Mount," he thought out loud as he backed to look at her. "right."

When the sun shone at her he could really see how beautiful she was! Her fur was like silk and moved gracefully when she moved. Her tail was soft and that also proved true when they had been cuddling. Her ears and all of her paws were black as the night. Now he knew about what she had been talking about! Especially now when he knew the other truth. Finally he knew the whole story she told him when he asked about what they called her. Or as she said, what her name is. But that wasn't something he wanted to hang up on. He had other things he had his vixen expected him to do.

He thought he knew what she was talking about and so he stood with his hinds briefly and fell over her. From the side! He was mounted over her from her side! She turned her head to the left, and when she saw him and what he was doing, she giggled, asking:

"Hahaha! What are you doing!"

He turned his head and looked at her. "Then how do I do?"

"Well," she said and smiled widely at him. "you thought right, but you have to do it from where my tail begins and ends!"

"Oh, you mean there," he said, then mounting off of her. "now I know."

He walked around until he came behind her. Now he tried again, and this time he did it right. The vixen had been prepared, but got confused when nothing happened. She tried to wag her tail and then she turned her head around again, raised a little upwards. "Love, what's troubling you? Is something wrong?"

He looked at her, without any kind of worry on his face, but he got off-guard by her look. "Nothing is worrying me? Is there something I'm doing wrong?"

"You aren't mating?"

"I'm not doing that yet? So, tell me, my love," he looked at her with his own attempt of looking like a charmer. "what shall I do now? And by the way, you haven't told me what it is, neither!"

"No," she said. "Sorry, dear! Well my mate, when we mate, we doing it to get a litter."

"A litter?"

"A family together. With you, me, and cute little foxkits for us two to raise up together!" she couldn't help but to wag her tail.

"Family?" he looked like if he was away from his body for a while, seeking answers from deeper then his own self could. "Ah, now I remember. Wait, what? You mean them small foxes?"

"Yes, them! I love them, they are so cute! I've always wanted to raise them up with one I love the most over the WHOLE wide world!"

He leaned closer, titling slightly to the side with his body, but not to make himself fall off. "You wanted to have a family with me? You wanted to…have cubs, with me?"

This is the Slagar she had been experiencing a few times earlier in her life. By this time she was aware of his apparent lack of both knowledge, which you learn from your parents, and the lack of memories of own experiences from his childhood. "Of course I do! I can't imagine, not even for less then a second, any other I would want to spend my life and experiences with!"

"But why me?"

She gave him a lick before she spoke, and he had leaned close enough for her to be able to reach for him with her small tongue.

"Slagar, I want you to be the father of our kits! It's as simple as that! I _love_ you…"

She stroked her head against what she could reach of him. Soon he was giving her the same care. After a while of cuddling, Slagar told her:

"…Thank you…" that's when his tear fell, as he had to close his eyes hard to hold in a whine he was struggling to muffle.

"Well…," she later began speaking, after yet some more sensitive and touching time spent together as a vixen and fox deeply in love. "Do you know what to do?"

"Not really, sniff," he said, snorting slightly, reopening his eyes which had been closed during their snuggling, just like she used to do when she was cuddling. "How do I do?"

"I don't know. I've just been taught, and to my experience from life, that it goes by a strong feeling. I've used what I can of mine to get where we are today. So I guess you should just let your feelings guide you the same way?"

He smiled at her. Slagar stood were he was, feeling inside of himself. Then, like an impulse from within himself that managed to reach his ears with words that revealed it for him, he knew. She yelped, but he was with her immediately, hugging her tightly, whispering in her ear. "It's alright, my love…I'm with you…" She was immediately soothed by his calm and assuring voice. She relaxed. She believed him. He _was_ loyal. He _was_ honest. She couldn't feel any safer than with him. She couldn't replace him with anything from this world!

* * *

_Brian Jacques - Redwall books.  
&  
A-son - These._


	9. The end of the beginning

_Chapter V – The End of the Beginnings_

The fox pair slept in their den now. They had mated later again that first day. For two more days they had found their opportunities to be together. Usually ending the same way; two balls of fur, having themselves burrowed into each other very close - resting. Resting for very long, snuggling and nuzzling, occasionally licking, as they rested. It had been some very exciting, fun and romantic days they had gone through together!

One time, Slagar had fell and came down over the vixen – from the front! When he stood there, with his paws on her shoulders, she remembered how he had been once earlier, though for real that time! Having cheered up his mate with joy, he himself had started to bounce around infront of her after his success of making her happy!

She was so glad that she had managed to get this very unique male to open himself to her this way! For short – these recent days had been nothing but pure enjoyment and it had been very, very fun and romantic for them both!

* * *

Several days afterwards, the days had been getting colder and colder – and harsher and harsher. Almost too cold and harsh! The pair hadn't thought about it too much in the earlier days, but recently it seemed to be becoming of something much serious! One day they had talked about this issue, and they had both immediately agreed on what was going to be the worst problem with these winter storms – the litter!

Regularly it would be starting to be longer days and even starting to get warm at these times, but it wasn't. If the snow wouldn't stop lasting for whole days with storms that were so cold and thick that you thought it was the winters' most glory days, this would become the issue that the pair feared!

Recently the pair was beginning to think. Thinking about plans, plans such as where they should head off to. They thought that if it didn't stop any day soon, it would be horrendous for the newborn kits!

They were planning on heading to a much warmer place, a place where even winter could feel pleasant! Slagar had thought, when he was travelling without any knowledge of his mate, that they could try advance through towards that direction.

Slagar was positive on that it wouldn't bring anything good by walking in the opposite direction, because he had a feeling of that it would lead them to a much worse place - plus that he had a strong feeling that told him why it was best to use the road that he was using in his early days, before he met his Nightpaw-Sofftail.

The day for leaving was nigh. Slagar was soon going to lead his mate through what could possibly be the harshest winter ever to have been crossed by anybeast. After having been sitting in the opening and watching the storm, he rose up and walked back into their sleeping chamber.

There she laid, his beautiful and very cute mate. The sight would have any male melt at the wonderful sight. The vixen was looking back at him when she saw him entering. Her warm smile warmed the fox. He walked closer to her, telling her.

"We should leave now, my vixen. We have no idea if it's going to be worse tomorrow or for how long this storm will last. So let's go together now. I'll lead us through it."

Slagar was just about to turn around and leave the chamber when she chirped at him. He turned his head back and looked at her.

"Mate, don't forget to be well prepared." He smiled at her.

"Of course not, my love. I got fur enough now. No winter can slay Slagar the Fox!" Yet again, she made him halt. "Yes, my dear?"

"Don't forget your clothing!" With that, Slagar was just about to go and get them when she lowered her head and bit something. She pulled out some clothing which she dragged out from under her body. It was his old cape, which one side had been so torn that they had only saved the black underside of it. He smiled at her.

"I'll be right with you." And with that he left to pick up what was left for them to bring with them. When he came back, he helped her with the cape, making sure that it was comfortingly around her whole body. It would warm her extra when they were travelling through the storm. The cape had been used as the soft rug and blanket which the newborn foxes would be born on, still were going to, but now it was being used to warm the mother during their travel!

Slagar couldn't help but to feel warmed when he remembered what was going to happen with his mate whenever he saw her small little round belly! And what that meant for him! She smiled at him whenever she saw him looking at her like that, and she knew why, which made Slagar even happier when he found her smiling back at him that way! He got a strong urge to bounce around whenever his feelings got so strong.

Slagar, when ready, had only been able to cover himself with a blue jacket he hadn't used since the old days. He knew that the storm would have him travel with a turned head if the storm hit him where his fur was less grown. But, he didn't worry too much at all. He had his vixen. And she had him. They would be there for each other. Nothing would be able to stop such determined parents-to-be such as themselves!

* * *

Two foxes were now sitting right beside each other, watching the snow fall together, sharing their highly valuable time with each other. After a long time, Slagar spoke to his mate. Her answer was by having her closed eyed head stroking up to his head, which did the same. When they had nuzzled each other enough, they took off, Slagar immediately being forced to turn his head to the side.

She was with him right away, giving him warmth by telling him to press his head into her fur. At the same time, he walked close to her, warming her with his'!

And so they were keeping their mate warm, warming each other.

Slagar had no possible clue of what remaining broken glass shards of his past would be recovered,  
and if it would be recovered in a new or worse way – in difference to how it went in the past,  
when they reached their destination and on what would happen when they got there!

* * *

_Redwall is made by Brian Jacques and this story is based on them._

_I dunno, but for some reason, I've experienced sudden snowfalls, even during these supposed-to-be spring months. Well, that's the way it goes sometime! But I like it. The point is, I had use of it when writting these recent chapters, hehehe._

_If it wasn't for you reviewers, this fiction may have been forgotten! So I thank you! And I hope that you'll keep writting! I love it. Makes me feel all fuzzy inside!_


	10. Advent of the past

_Chapter VI – Advent of the Past_

Walking, walking, walking. Taking forever. Hardly moving anything near of what was their desired pace. At least, they fortunately had the warmth. After a long time of travelling, they were nearby the pond, frozen harder then rock by this time. Slagar was looking around in every direction to see which path they would take for the sake of safety to them both.

As they walked Slagar saw something, immediately telling his vixen of what he saw, something that had stopped him in his tracks with astonishment. He saw a bridge! A bridge with some critters and mammals working on it! The vixen was astonished, too.

"A bridge? I have no memory of a bridge being here!"

"Maybe they, just as us, wanted to move to warmer lands; and so they cooperated in building a bridge over that big crack in the earth?"

Now Slagar was amazed by his mate. "I think you guessed entirely right, mate!"

"Come on - let's use it to get over!" She darted off, bouncing. She turned around while she did, making sure he did the same as her. "Follow me!" So he did. Excluding the bouncing. While they were running, on a positive perspective warming them up – negative being hit by the cold a lot faster and often, she spoke to her mate again.

"If we are really fortunate we will find some animals that have already used it to cross over! And if we are even luckier, they'll know where to go if one wants to find the warmlands!"

Slagar smiled to himself. That thought could actually turn out to be real. Hopefully, all of Cuddletail's guesses would turn out to have been possibilities turned out to be true! When they reached the bridge, it wasn't hard to tell the workers there that they wanted to cross. In fact, they only warned them to move carefully – being the reason they were there to repair any faults in the construction! Slagar was surprised that they were alright with, what it seemed, anybeast!

Nightpaw-Softtail told him that that's how everyone have learned to live here, including everyone she knew personally, and how others have seen her: a friend. She also told him that it had been critters in the huge spruce that had helped her when she was preparing for their mating! Slagar was impressed.

He would certainly wish to have, as many as it was possible, these kind of animals crossing over the bridge and heading for a spot which they could love to live in themselves. If they now had some knowledge of a place such as that, he would certainly follow. Having such travellers close by through their journey would be very useful to follow if they did take them to such a land.

The vixen thought that they would be the best neighbouring animals (which they had been where they lived originally for some days ago) to have in their new home! Unlike Slagar, she had told him about that thought.

Slagar had thought that he had heard someone, or something, call out to him. He hadn't said anything, just slightly looking around, trying to figure out where it came from. It had felt that it had come from everywhere, yet from nowhere. Maybe it was…inside of him?

He shrugged his thoughts by shaking his head a little to himself. Very shortly after, he had heard something yet again! This time he had stopped and looked behind him. The vixen saw this, turned her head to look behind herself.

"Is something wrong, Slagar?"

He simply shook his head slightly again. "No. I just thought I heard something. But wait, what's…!" Now he heard the voice again, but this time he saw something before his eyes, in the middle of the blizzard! It all went very fast, but he thought he had seen someone that seemed to have been around his own size. He thought he saw someone even deeper in the blizzard, but even if that beast had been there, it would have been so far behind the other one that Slagar would've simply seen a mere shadow of whoever it was. In those split seconds he caught this strange "vision" before him, he had heard a third noise.

But this time, he realized that they had been words. It could've been that it had been either too weak or too far away at the first times. Unfortunately, he hadn't managed to make out what it had said. But he thought that it had sounded like the voice of someone poor and innocent in despair!

Slagar had jerked a little when he reacted the time after the vixen had spoken to him. Now she turned around and came up beside him, giving him a sign to move on by stroking her nose against the side of the head she had turned to her direction.

"It is nothing, my love. Please, come with me, we must cross this bridge so that we can get away from this cold."

He stood still for a little longer, but seeing that it had been nothing, he turned his head and stroked with his head as she was stroking his. "It was probably the weather that's messing with my senses. Let's go." She was pleased by that answer.

Crossing the bridge had been easy, which was unexpected to the fullest. They had built strong wooden walls which kept anybeast from being blown off the bridge, or slip off it! With that they had crossed the bridge.

Now they seemed to be aware of where they would find the warmest place! Finding the new home didn't seem so hard anymore! The new knowledge made the foxes even more determined now! The snow had even been lighter on this side of the rift! Things were starting to look very bright for the foxes' future! And, of course, the unborn foxes' and vixens'! Not all to long after, Nightpaw-Softtail had spoken, saying:

"There, do you see that? Not too far away from us, in front of us but to the side?"

Slagar answered with an added nod. "They are going towards our destination!"

Softtail raised her nose, shutting her eyes to avoid getting anything in the eyes. "And it's the best destination, too! Smell and feel for yourself! The warmth of the wind in that direction is the warmest! Oh, Slagar, we made it!"

Things were definitely aiming to become a bright future indeed!

* * *

When the increase in warmth could be felt, it was a big joy at first. But after a while, Slagar got curious.

"The cold is like a gentle breeze now, I'm still freezing by it, but for some reason, my paws are very hot!"

The vixen looked at him and briefly wondered why. Less then a half minute later she knew why.

"Aw, why it's because it's some kind of desert here!"

Slagar immediately turned to look at her face. "What a very strange land we're passing through! Some kind of mini-desert, in the middle of nowhere, especially grasslands! This is really something. Oh, and by the way, how did you know? I thought that you hadn't been here?"

She gave him one of her warming gentle smiles. "Remember I spoke once about were my family was from? I have crossed this land before, long ago I think, before I found a home. That home being where I got you." She tilted her head and reached in for vixen's kiss. He smiled back at her when he remembered.

"I remember. Forgive me, but you have been aware, ever since the day we saw… well, at least after we got to know each other, that I seem to be suffering from memory losses."

She now got closer to stroke her head against him. "Yes, I know, I know, poor little you! Hopefully it's not so much and that it will come back soon, just like your fur started to kick in when winter struck our home!"

"Well, I wouldn't say that it will be easy, everything before I met you is all blurry. I cannot figure out if my dreams are memories or if my thoughts are really from an actually past of mine. So I say that it's quite much to remember. If I even will, that is. Heh, as I said; everything before I met you is gone, I only got memories of when we first met!"

She gave a smile which she couldn't hide. "But that's just great, isn't it?" Slagar couldn't hide it either.

"Of course!"

* * *

_BrianJacques' equals Redwall. (Not mine)  
A-Son(/i) equals Fanfiction (Mine)_


	11. What is

_Chapter VII  
"What is Gone,  
what is Left, what Remain?"_

When they had reached a forest they had stopped to sleep. Thanks to the trees and the increase in warmth made winter so much easier to live with down here. Including what fur they had got from the heavy blizzards from where they had came. They were now sleeping, only their breaths and purr-like sound of satisfaction and enjoyment sounding. Nightpaw-Softtail was sleeping under Slagar's "new" cape. She had the black side (because the original outside had been so torn that it was meaningless to save (reminder from chapter 9)) against her body.

Because she didn't fear the area, she weren't afraid to have the cape's night sky pattern, the capes inside, covering her, shining whenever the moonlight hit her. Slagar were using the same "blanket" as her, sharing it together. If they hadn't done that, Slagar would sleep with just a jacket and only near fully grown winterpelt.

While they sleeping, Slagar got vision again, similar to the one he experienced while they left old Loamhedge and crossed the bridge which took them away from there. In his dream, he clearly saw a shape – and a voice. This time he heard what it said - though it would be near forgotten when he woke up.

"…Slagar! …I miss you! I miss you so much! I long for you! I need you!"

Shortly after, he had seen the shape been brutally murdered! It had probably been the far away silhouette he saw in the last vision. It had now appeared from behind the first shape, the one who had been speaking to him twice now, and slain it. The soft, heartbroken voice had been silenced. It was a painful silence that came when that silken voice had died out. The disappearance had felt like if something big from his soul, memory and heart had been torn apart from him. It hurt!

Slagar had woken up, almost kicking. He found himself lying on his tummy, head raised. He was panting hard. But he had no idea what had happened, nor what it had meant. But yet… He could only remember his vixen when he thought of the past, and he was sure that it hadn't been her. Being paranoid, he was sure that the slayer wasn't him either. Who were they, then? Getting a headache, he wanted to stop thinking about it. His mate had woke up, and without a raised head, she was looking at him.

"Slagar? How are you? Having nightmares?"

He looked at his mate. "I have no idea. But they were both very similar, this one and the one from the bridge."

First she looked worried, but then she laid down her head again, right next to his body. "I'm worried about you, my dear. But we can't do anything yet. Let's try to sleep again. Come my mate, join me in my dream?"

He lowered his head above hers', his head going over her neck. "Of course I will…"

Her purring made him settle down and relax, making him able to sleep well again. He also felt her extra warmth further away from her body, mostly her very furry belly, feeling very soft and comfortable against him! She had his fur warming her, having his pelt all over her! Soon they fell back into sleep together, both having had a wonderful feeling of each other the whole time before they did!

* * *

The next day they had travelled even further, now sitting beside each other, looking down at a huge snow covered forest covering their whole view! It looked beautiful! It looked like such a wonderful place! A more then perfect place for them to live in! Their fortunate had made them very happy, having felt that it had been impossible to not have shared their joy with each other! They had stroked their heads against each other, occasionally licking each other with pure joy! A dream come true! And it had been _their_ dream!

"Nightpaw, we found it! A forest warmland for us to live in! Think about the possibilities! This place is perfect, Softtail!"

"It sure is!" Her joy had seemed to have decreased very slightly suddenly, and Slagar had noticed it.

"What is it? Is there something wrong with it? Had you expected something else?"

Her head rose up and she looked at him. "O no, no! I love it! I mean it! And it reminds me of the forests that my family lived in! No, Slagar, it _is_ very beautiful and I think we've found a spot which is greater then we could imagine our litter's home would be! No, no, it's perfectly beautiful, it's more wonderful then I could ever possibly imagine! It's just that…well," she lowered her head, but then she looked at him that way by turning her head without raising her head back. "It reminds me of something."

He tilted his head, almost having his head in the same level as hers'. "And what is that?"

"I don't know, but there's something about it that makes me…hesitate. Like if I am experiencing something from the before. Right now it feels…like dream. A great dream, perhaps even the most wonderful dream ever! But somewhere in that dream, you remember that it's the location of where something really bad took place. You can't remember if it happened to you, or if you had just experienced it as it took place. ...I…I can't fully explain…but…"

Slagar felt frightened. Because of that it felt that it happened to him, too! The way she had tried to explained it felt familiar. Even the spot they stood on now felt special. But even then, he took the chance. He believed in this forest. Nothing told him that it would happen to them. In that case, he thought so stubbornly, his instinct and senses would have notified him.

"I'm sure that it will turn out to bee nothing, Softtail." She didn't answer, she remained the same…

Then he tried something different, and he came with his head below her head, and stroked upwards, meeting with their cheeks. "I will promise you then, that I will protect you from anything and anyone if something happens down there."

Her head jerked up and she looked at him, almost near letting a tear go, now only clouding her vision the longer it stayed in her eye. "Sniff, re – re – really? You would do that?"

He stopped and looked at her, smiling. "I will! You bet your life on that!"

She struggled forward a smile as she had the tear running down her cheek, wetting the fur as it ran down.

"Oh, Slagar!…I love you so, sniff!"

Then she embraced the whole him with her entire body, for she adored her fox so very much. Crying with joy.

Slagar felt the big responsibility he had as she brushed herself up to him, sometimes feeling slight shivers that the vixen made occasionally. This also gave him a taste of how his role would play when she gave birth and how that would affect him. The vixen would need protection and love, someone sensitive and caring – a mate – and a father. And it would have a head start today. He wasn't sure on how much she would need him around her this day, but he would do more then enough to be on the sure side.

* * *

Later that day, they had spent a lot of the time looking for the perfect home. The forest felt secure, and there were lots of old homes that would both spare them from making one themselves and that it would already be clean and comfortable!

Some time later that day, they had spotted an abandoned home – or so they guessed – that was located underneath a stump of a tree. It seemed to be dark, but whenever you looked from the inside and out, there was a perfect amount of light!

The opening also gave out a refreshing chill if you wanted to lay closest to the opening! It seemed to fit their needs perfectly, but they were curious if it wasn't already occupied. It _did_ have remainders and even some leftovers, but whoever had lived here had seemed to have left for a new home, ignoring the small mess as they left. Or they hadn't simply noticed it. The vixen Nightpaw-Sofftail looked at her mate as they looked at it through the hole from the outside.

"Well?" she asked. "What do you think?"

He turned his head and looked at her. "I don't complain. But it's _you_ that will have the litter, so I should be asking you!"

She smiled gently at him. "But I want _you_ to feel that you like it, too!"

He smiled back at her, having a small trace of a grin. "Hehehe, you little vixen, you! Very well………I like it!" he gave her one stroke with her head against her cheek.

"Very good!" she leaned in and gave him a lick, then wagged her tail with excitement. "Now, let's check this den out!"

She went in and began fixing it up a little, Slagar remaining outside, now sitting, and smiling to himself as he occasionally saw his vixen move around in the den. Suddenly she had stopped and immediately lay down. He had heard her make a sound that sounded like an exhausted sigh and so he had rose up to see what happened inside their new home, seeing her lying down and formed like a ball. She now looked tired and disturbed for some reason! He became worried.

"Cuddletail? What's wrong?" She looked up at him, looking almost pained!

"It's my body, Slagar. I think it's because of the younglings."

It was then he noticed. She looked so different now then he had remembered her the first time they have noticed something happening with her belly! Back then it had just been a bump, like a swelling from after a decent meal, but now. Now her belly looked round, furry and soft! Maybe it wouldn't be so long until she gave birth now! Slagar, with a gentle smile on his muzzle, carefully walked over to her, nuzzling and cuddling with her.

"You stay right here, my lovely mate, while I get you something to eat!"

She answered by licking him. "You're such a kind, caring mate. I never regretted you. Never!"

And with that, he was off. With no idea of what would happen to his mate while he was not there…

While she tried to rest in their new home, very warm and tired, occasionally having to make a breathe that sounded like one who would be cold and shivering. As she laid there, her ears picked up a sound and her ears perked up, so did her head when she realized that whatever it were was close by to their den! The creatures, seeming to be either polecats, weasels or stoats, had noticed that someone was under the old stump.

The vixen wanted to fight them off, but she remembered herself of that she was pregnant and that it would set her and her mate's kits in danger! They had walked over now, looking inside, grinning at her.

"Well, look et dat! Der's aye vixen 'ere!"

The vixen wanted to growl and snarl at them, being two ferrets and a stoat, but she was afraid that that message could be taken in a way that could make them hurt her.

"Now, now, dun be afreid vix'n!" the male ferret who was looking inside the hole said. "We're jus' curious, see! You see, we notic'd dat som'un was livin' where, accordin' to our boss, some ol' snake had hid!"

The vixen's eyes widened some. "There's been a snake here?"

"Oh yes, mate! An' we wanted to be shure dat nothing would happ'n to any anlucky beast! Jus' wha' happen'd to sum fox sum time ago! So com' wiff us, we wanna save ye!" the truth was, that the vermins wanted to gather foxes because of their boss' orders. Especially vixens, and more especially pregnant ones. It was then the ferret noticed that her tummy was round.

"You pregnant?

Nightpaw-Softtail didn't answer, afraid that even telling them that it was none of their business could end with trouble!

"Do you think she can be the one?" a female ferret said. "She do live where he was bit, yanno!"

"Well, she ain't the sort to talk, so whaddya suggest we dew now?" asked the male ferret.

"Let's force it outtha 'er!" said the male stoat.

The vixen looked up with worry. "Force what out of me?"

"Ah, it's nothing, we jus' wanna…get to know…more about ye cubs, that's all!"

"What? No! You won't have my litter!"

"Aw, come on now, you. Giv' yerself to us so dat we'll know if yer cubs belongs to…aaah!" Having been led by a strong emotion, she had bitten his paw as he had tried to hold her. "That bitch fox! I'll teach her a lessun!"

The wounded animal, as his comrades stood guard, went for her with a fearsome looking knife, swinging it around to get her! She rolled over to her side, kicking like crazy and shrieking in distress. "No! _NO_! Stop hurting me, AH! Please, _stop_, stop hurting me! Help! _Mate_! Please save me, love! Please! No! No, stop! No, please help me, Sla-AAAH!"

The knife had cut her over her left eye! Bleeding and calling helplessly for someone to save her, litter in terrible danger, he tried everything to make her plead for them to take her to wherever place they wanted her to be.

Suddenly, the female ferret had seen a shape of what seemed to be another fox, wearing something blue. She immediately turned around to tell the male ferret "Jiskard, we must leave, _now_! That may be _him_!"

The ferret stopped and peeked out from the opening. He looked at the shape walking in the distance. "Yew serious? Hell's teeth…well, in 'hat case, we better get outtha 'ere before 'e gets 'ere an' sees what we've caused to his female!"

"Raight, so come un! We mus' hurry back to the boss!" the stoat said and so ending their horrible business. And with that, the three hurried away from the scene where a vixen with her unborn kits had been threatened to do what they ordered.

* * *

Slagar hadn't been too far away now, but still in the distance if his mate would be looking out from their home. Slagar felt glad and joyful. Those things she had spoken so highly of, these "kits", had all sounded like a dream according to his mate. Also according to her, that future would soon be upon them both! He had no idea how it would feel like, but he had a feeling of that it would be very exciting! Smiling to himself, he continued to scatter for food. The fate of the dinner rested in his paws!

As he smiled to himself as he thought of his mate again, he heard a set of paws hurrying through the forest. He looked up to see in the direction it passed him, but saw nothing. The smell felt familiar, though. Seeing that nothing happened, he ignored it, and kept on looking for anything to eat. He just shook his head for himself and chuckled.

"Heh. Stupid woodlanders."

But soon, he realized something. Hadn't they came from the direction of their home? By now he was curious on why they had been running so fast. An instinct hit him, and he felt his heart stop and it felt like he couldn't breathe. What if something had happened? The thought made him so paranoid that he got a strong urge to run back. He wanted to be sure that his wild guesses weren't just a fantasy.

When he reached the den, he saw nothing out of the ordinary. He walked closer to check inside the den, where his mate would be sleeping soundlessly, but was met by a whine and whimpering noises!

He darted to opening and there he saw his vixen, crying – and bleeding! Slagar panicked!

"Holy claw. No, NO! NIGHTPAW! Nightpaw, what happened!"

The vixen was now whining a lot, laying there and not making a move, turning her head over to see her mate's face. She struggled to make plain words.

"S, S, Sl, Slagar, I…I, I…I, I, I d, d, d, don't…don't kno, kno, kno, kno, know!" hearing and watching her cry almost killed the fox. Slagar did his best not to cry himself. He thought that they had to do their best to stay strong. Sensing that it would be a waste to try and talk of what happened, he knew that the first and most important thing right now would be to assist her. He reacted fast and was quick in every situation.

"Here, I'll heal your wounds! Don't worry my dear, everything will be…_Fangs_! We have no items here yet! And I got no time to go out and look for them! I, I can't even get you food! Oh no, what shall I do now! _Arrrgh_! I don't know what to do! This can't be!"

He sat down, immediately getting up again and pacing back and forwards each time he did, thinking so hard that he almost wanted to rip his fur off!

"Argh, what to do! I can't prioritize what to do first! We need help! That's it! Come my love, we gotta move! I'll help you! And I swear by my _LIFE_ that I won't stop moving until I've found someone to help us, even if I will die of exhaustion!"

Slagar was sprinting through the forest, rain falling down and hitting them rapidly and unmercifully, sometimes feeling hard as it hit him in the face. But he didn't stop. He sprang the fastest he could, tears falling down to mix with the rain as he ran. He had swept them both in with the black cape they would use as a rug for the newborn toddlers when the time was right.

He felt heartbroken as he ran. Nothing would happen to this vixen. Nothing. But yet, somewhere, the chance was there – it could happen. She could die. His heart didn't want to realize that. It didn't want to believe it. So he ran, sprinting through the forest as fast as he could, heart feeling broken, shattered by an unfair, unmerciful fate that he wouldn't allow to see happen to them – not at any cost!

The fox was determined to find someone or even something that could help them. And he would. No matter what. And he did – a huge building covered with snow.

He was sure that help may very possibly be found there!

And so he headed for it.

With his vixen.

His mate.

And_ life._

* * *

Redwall made by Brian Jacques. Fanfiction made by A-son the Fox. This was a long chapter because I wanted to do it all at once (and it would give most effect), so there may be some faults, either which I've missed, or a malfunction while using the spell-checker. It took a little time to finish because I had to stop and look ("storyboard" notes) forward on how I had planned to make it, among other things. Enjoy! 


	12. Redwall, the sanctuary for foxes

_Chapter VIII:  
Redwall, Sanctuary for Vermin_

It was night. Mossflower and all of its rich greenness were pitch black from all the darkness by that time. Down from the skies were sheets of rain pouring down on the shape of a drenched fox, carrying another fox – a vixen, covering himself and his mate with a black cape. The struggling fox had himself and his mate covered in mud and blood as the thousand raindrops fell hard and repeatedly at them. After a horrific struggle, he saw a shape, a square formed silhouette, which brought hope to the exhausted pair. Finally he had seen something else that wasn't slim, tall and green!

He used the strength and determination to reach it. He appeared before a wooden gate, and like in a dream, it felt like he had foreseen this encounter! He hoped dearly that that vision hadn't ended badly. He slammed as hard as he could, while still trying everything not to drop his vixen, wondering if his noise was loud enough for someone to hear it. In a whether like this, he thought, they were probably neatly pressed into each other, warming themselves with their combined body heats or whatever this old building had in store for the inhabitants in here. That they would have a warm fireplace was too much to hope for, Slagar thought. But you never know.

After a while, Slagar began to look around instead of staring right into the wood of the gate, and that was when he thought, and felt, that someone had been looking at them from above. He looked down on the face of his vixen, his lovely vixen, and sighed sadly to himself. I hope I haven't put you in more danger, he thought out loud. Moments later, the door was slightly creaked up; being opened too small for him to guess which kind of animal race had taken over this place. If it wasn't for this storm, he would bother to use his smell to do so, but the whether was already bothering him enough to bother to try and figure out who they were.

The creature hadn't spoken, probably for safety measures he thought, so he wasted no time to bring his message. His words were pained, but his voice was clear, in difference to how it had been long ago.

"Please, you must help me. My mate is wounded, and if she does not get treated soon, I fear that something bad may happen to her! Do you have room for us? I must save my love! Please, can you help us? If your kinds have a heart, you wouldn't decline the cry of an animal in need. Would you?"

The animal on the other side made a smile when he was finished. "Our home never declines the cry for help from any animal in need of help! Sorry for asking and keeping you two outside during this awful whether, but what race are you?"

Being outside in the cold and under this whether was the very reason Slagar was in a hurry if he would want to save his mate before something bad happened her.

"She is a vixen."

The animal behind the door paused for a moment. Shortly after, he had an answer. "Very well. Come on in, and hurry! We must make haste if we shall save your loved one if her wound is as bad as you tell me it is!"

* * *

After they had passed the courtyard, the animal, which was still unknown to Slagar for he had covered himself with a huge cloak to not get himself wet, led him over to the main building, and abbey made of red, walls placed around it. Redwall. The abbey of Redwall. Home for many skilled animals, from healing, to nursing, to cooking, and sometimes even fighting if forced to.

As soon as they stood inside Redwall, Slagar felt blessed when he realized that the fate of his vixen seemed to be a good one, and it took all his worries away from him. That, though, didn't mean that the danger was over yet. The hooded creature had immediately turned to look at him, voice kept low, the moment they were inside the abbey. He whispered.

"Be aware, fox. Be cautious. Don't reveal yourselves to be foxes just yet."

Slagar was about to ask why when his question to be told was interrupted by another whispered message.

"Be calm – and the inhabitants will be calm by the time your race and origin is revealed to them. Hard to explain, but you will know when the time is right. Then you will see for yourself what I was talking about. All clear? Good, now, here comes somebody. Remember what I said and I promise you that everything will turn out just fine!"

The new animal that had appeared, a squirrel, curious of who his friend had dragged inside. "Were you outside during this storm? And who did you find? Are they hurt?"

The hooded animal nodded. "You hit the nail, friend squirrel, for the carried animal you see before you, for what I have been told, is severely wounded and he seeks help!"

The squirrel was now alert. "Wounded? Why, why didn't you say so right away? Argh, why do you always have to be so dramatic? I'll get some help right away!"

"What should I do with them by the time you do that?" the hooded animal shouted after the dashing squirrel.

"Take them somewhere warm!" And with that, the squirrel had disappeared as quickly as he had appeared. The hooded creature turned around and looked at the male fox of the two.

"Well then, follow me! I'll take you to our fireplace where you will be warm!"

Slagar felt a need to roll his eyes as he more and more found himself in a place where all his former wild guesses actually appeared. Instead, he spoke back as he followed the hooded one, as a sigh of relief left his muzzle.

"_Thank_ you..."

* * *

_Finding a balance between time and quality takes time when you want to write, draw, and a lot of other thing during the days, but finally I found a calm spot on my busy, but creative, very fun and exciting, schedule, and so I managed to create this. Nothing of my vision was lost; it was done with ease, and the whole day free for all my other duties! As always; if it weren't for the reviews, I wouldn't bother to finish this. See you all soon again!_


	13. Red Walls, through and through

_Dialogue slightly edited and some addsfor the end of this chapter & the character in the end had been referred to as  
__a "she" and "him". Hehehe, I missed that. To help you who have already read find them, I'll add dots above the parts which've been changed and will be __edited away when a I make a new chapter! This will make it easy for you!_

* * *

_Chapter IX - The Red & Walls_

The male fox lay together with his mate on a couch, consoling her by licking her whenever she whimpered and whined. He sensed that she was still having tears in her eyes. He felt so down. Seeing her like this…

Some time later, three creatures arrived; two nurses (what they seemed like) going for the curled up pair, accompanied by a third female, the squirrel from before. Slagar felt the sadness in the two nurses. When they stood before them, having to crouch to meet the vixen's level of her curled-in shape, they spoke:

"Does anyone know what happened?"

Slagar lifted his head up and looked down at the nurse that had spoken. "I don't know. I have definitely no knowledge of what have happened to her."

It would certainly help with some information about the incident that had happened, but there was none, so knowledge about the cause of the wound was unknown, so they had to find it out for themselves. But as long as there was blood, it was a wound, and a wound has to be healed. That's the only thing that mattered – to keep the animals within their abbey alive and healthy, no matter what injuries or race.

"We have to get her to the infirmary. We must ask this vixen to come with us now, if you excuse our…," she was interrupted – by Slagar.

"And no further harm will be brought to my love?"

"Of course! We would never hurt an animal that have done us no harm. Not us Redwallers, not to my knowledge."

Slagar couldn't help but to make a quick grin. "Catchy name for this place. It fits this fortress." Slagar was just about to be interrupted, but he managed to speak before they did, which made them think of better things then having themselves talking about their homes. "But we shall _not_ talk about this – not now! It seems that I have to let her go if I will have any hope of ever seeing her again."

"Ah, yes, how could we forget! The life of your love is in danger! Oh, we're awfully sorry!"

Slagar lowered his head. "It's no worry. Now…take my loved one with you…"

"Right away, and thank you for trusting us, fox! You won't regret it, we promise you with our lives on that. Now then, little vixen. Can you stand?"

Nightpaw-Softtail whimpered as an answer. She uncurled herself and was now on her tummy, about to get down from the sofa. She placed her front legs down to meet the floor, then went for the next step – getting her hind legs down. As soon as the paws of Nightpaw-Softtail's hit the floor, she was very close to overturn! They were just about to catch her, but she managed to keep herself up, but shook so much when she stood straight that she laid herself down on her tummy, ears laying themselves flat on her head.

.  
"No." she said sadly, feelinghelpless.

"Awww, you poor thing! Friend, help me lead this vixen to her room. With help from anyone we pass by, we should manage to get her there. We need every help we happen to pass by! Now we must hurry – this poor girl's lucky to be able to stand and talk, so let's keep it that way if we want to see her smiling and jumping around happy and joyfully in the spring again. And don't you worry, fox, she's safe now."

Slagar saw them disappear with his mate. He nodded to himself, for they wouldn't hear him anyway unless he shouted. He looked down at where she had laid just recently with him, whispering to himself.

"Take good care of her…I beg you."

He lowered his head even more.

Then the cloaked animal appeared, instead of following the trio that carried Slagar's mate to the infirmary, and laid a paw on his head. Slagar immediately jerked his head to look at who was doing it, making him move the paw away at the sudden move Slagar made, and saw the cloaked one. He was smiling.

"Come." He said. "I bet you want to rest."

Slagar seemed to be looking at him with eyes that seemed to say 'why would I rest now when my love is in pain?', but he continued to speak anyway. "You must be tired. I should know, having done so much for your mate, possibly during the same hour, you must have overworked yourself and be completely exhausted by now! So please, I suggest you rest for now, so that you can have your strength back when you meet her again. Agreed?"

Slagar sat where he was for a moment more, head still only turned, which would feel very uncomfortable to the neck if done for too long. That moment of silence later, he turned his head back and nodded.

"…Agreed."

The cloaked one patted him on his vulpine shoulder. Slagar slowly sat up and stood on his four, turned around and followed his new "friend".

* * *

"Well, here it is. We are here – this is where you will rest up." 

Slagar looked around. He looked at the cloaked animal. "Whatever. No need introducing me to this room. What is this anyway – it's too nice in here, I don't like it. You want me to feel safe before I'm taken to your leader where I will be judged? Why else would you spend such a good room like this one, for a stranger?"

The unknown animal couldn't help but to grin. "You've never expected such hospitality to be found in a 'fortress', have you? Then you have really missed something if you have never heard about places such as this, where the goodbeasts live."

Slagar didn't answer at first, then he murmured: "I can't remember any homes except my mate's, and that's the only home I remember. I have been nowhere else. I'm new to these parts."

The cloaked one smiled. When he was about to answer, after yet some silence, he was interrupted by Slagar.

"Who are you, anyway? Something isn't right here."

The animal seemed to have been spooked. "O, that's right!" he pulled down his hood. "I've had this wet cloak on for an eternity now!"

Slagar got confused to some amount. "Ferret? That's strange; your friend was a squirrel. I have a faint memory of that your races didn't come along at times."

"Same for us both." Slagar looked at him, and his look seemed to tell him that the fox had seen the point. The fox asked the ferret a question.

.  
"And yet we are here? Is that what youtried totell mewhen you whispered earlier?"

He grinned. "Exactly! You catch on quick."

.  
"And that hospitality. That's what you had tried to explain to me?"

"Absolutely."

"So, I'm in a place where any stranger, especially wounded ones, can seek refuge-"

"And treatment, bed and food!" the ferret added.

"-As long as you prove to them that you are a friend? Well wonderful, I shall consider me and my mate very lucky then to have arrived here, then."

"You should!" the ferret spread his paws with a wide smile, nearly seeming to be close to burst into a loud laughter. "Well then, I shouldn't waste a fox's time anymore, I won't bother you no more now! I'll obviously see you again later today."

And with that, he left, and Slagar sighed, and then turned to find a place to rest. As soon as the door shut, he heard a faint sound of a metallic object behind it. Slagar's ears quickly rose up pointing at the sound. He knew immediately what was happening. That ferret is locking him in? Oh no, you are NOT going to stop me from seeing my mate when I want to!

.  
Slagar growled and rose up, darted towards the door, then sat down beside it, and waited. When he thought that enough minutes had passed, he made his move. He didn't have to spend too much time thinking out how to get out; for he noticed that the door hadn't been completely shut when he had locked it! With a push, the door went up! Ha!

"Hmpfh, what an amateur. Unless he _wanted_ me to break free. Better be careful from now on." Slagar was determined to see Cuddletail and be with her when they healed her. He wouldn't accept to be forced to wait while his mate was wounded and in an infirmary.

* * *

He had passed through a few corridors, trying to avoid walking into any unnecessary rooms until he had any clue on what was in it. Slagar felt frustrated. Where could an infirmary be? It should be close to the main gate so that injured animals could be taken to the healers as fast as they could. A healer's job was, perhaps, the most urgent. 

After yet some more walking (and a little sneaking) around, he stopped to recollect in his memory which pattern he had made while walking inside the abbey. As he looked back at this, he heard a muffled sound, probably feminine. He stopped in his thoughts and concentrated on the sound. Could it have come from someone who had hurt itself, or could it be Nightpaw-Softtail?

The voices continued, getting louder, but muffled. It had to be, Slagar thought, and he headed for the source of the noise.

As he got closer to the room he looked for, all of a sudden a nurse had came out of nowhere, and had bumped into him. She was startled, but quickly recovered, excusing herself. "Oh, I'm terribly sorry, you see, I was on my way to get someone to assist us for there's a…," it was then she saw who she had bumped into. "Fox? Another fox?"

Slagar looked at her. He quickly understood, that she weren't going to alert her friends about his presence, he thought. In a negative way, that is. "Yes, another fox. I'm looking for a vixen. You seem to know something."

She turned around and pointed down the corridor. "Turn there and keep going, you'll find her." She turned around to look at Slagar again. "There's a female fox in the infirmary if that's the one you're looking for. She's giving birth, methinks."

Slagar eyed the corner of the corridor and perked his ears to focus on the sounds that came from all the way down there. The fox darted off and was soon out of sight when he disappeared behind the corner. The nurse, female squirrel, could do nothing to hide her smile when she saw how the male had run away to find his beloved mate. Moments after she got her consciousness back again and remembered why she had left the infirmary. Her duty given to her had been to get as many Redwallians as she could, because someone was soon a mother in their abbey!

On her way to the dinning and sleeping quarters, she stumbled into yet another animal. This time, it was someone hooded. Again, she excused herself.

"Sorry, mate, but may you…"

"Have you seen a fox?"

"You again? Or is it another one who wants to find a fox now?"

"You've seen any fox recently?"

"I've seen two."

"Where?"

.  
"In the infirmary. I helped a male, just now. Merely simple, quick seconds ago!"

The cloaked animal was in a hurry, which was the most obvious. She put a paw on her shoulders and turned her around. The nurse was surprised by the sudden move and simply stared down the hall. Then she heard:

"Take me there, please?"

* * *

They were _adorable_! Three dark brown little darling foxkits were tucked together as one small ball of fur, moving slowly, and nowhere, around where they lay all very close to their mommy. Blind, tiny, making whimpering meep-like sounds. The vixen was tear eyed as she smiled dearly at her newborn litter. All around her couldn't help themselves from not wanting to cuddle with them. She had looked up at them with a smile, and it was not only her face, but the whole she looked glad and happy. It was a dream that was really taking place! Now there was just the unknowing father left. 

And how he would react! She definitely couldn't wait to see her loved one see their litter! And he appeared!

Slagar stood completely still. When he saw his mate, with small, fluffy, moving balls of fur around her. And the look on her. The entire her, even! … everything stopped. He couldn't believe what he saw. It was way more wonderful then he had been told that it would be! And maybe this day wasn't even close to over yet! Maybe more joyful surprises would happen today, who knew!

Slagar stood there, feeling an overflow of emotions inside of him simultaneously. He didn't know where to start! But he felt what would be the right thing to choose – what his mate wanted him to do. He could sense that she wanted him to join her and share their happiness's together. They smiled the entire time towards each other, feeling how their mate was willing to do everything to express themselves to this event! The nurses moved away to let the mates have their touching reunion together. But Slagar had only taken a few steps before someone appeared from behind him. Grabbing hold of him.

The happiness and joy was interrupted in a way that it almost made the foxparents and nurses feel scared. Like when you or your family are in danger and you fear that you will lose them.

"What's going on!"

"What are you doing!"

"_No_! Let my mate be!"

"We are taking him back to his room. He left the room he was supposed to stay in before we got any chance to decide what we would do with him, and on top of that he went completely loose, without anyone to keep an eye on him! Who knows what could have happened!" It was the hooded one that had spoken.

One of the nurses tried to stop the hooded animal (and the few animals that had followed her) from taking the male fox away from his mate and newborn litter.

"But you can't do that!"

"Think of the dibbuns!"

Now the other nurse spoke up, with raised voice.

"What do you know about dibbuns! If you could use your eyes, you would clearly see that you are ruining the life of two new experiencing parents!"

.  
One of the animals, an otter, who had followed the cloaked one, (which hadn't said what the urgency was about) was starting to feel quilt. With a sigh of discomfort, he said: "Awfully sorry, but wheneva sumthin' new an' unexpected happens in d' abbey, we gotta fallow the rules of h'our abbey."

The nurse was furious, and the vixen wanted to cry. Which she couldn't help herself from doing. "Please, you have nothing to be afraid of! We're just as full of innocence as these newborn kits!"

.  
The ones that had joined the hooded one wanted to say something, but they were powerless. The female that had led them were above their position in the abbey, and because she had acted without clearance from the abbot, they were forced to follow the cloaked one's orders for now, until someone debriefed the abbot or someone else of equal importance. The cloaked animal moved Slagar to leave the room. That made the nurses angered by this nonsense and unfairness again

"_Why are you doing this to them_! _You heartless beast_, don't you see that you are _crushing these foxes' lives_! Let him go at _this instant_!"

But they were already walking. Just as that happened, Nightpaw-Softtail felt pain and whimpered. Those who heard looked at her at an instant. She was giving birth again! Slagar had heard when someone had spoken out about her sudden whimpering. Slagar became wild! He did everything to get back! The sudden strength got those around him off-guard and almost lost their grip. Slagar's head was looking inside the room. He saw as she was in pain, more cubs being born to their litter! For the longest time, he felt the strong urges to cry out. How could these beasts do this to him and his family! They _needed him _now, more then ever before! They managed to drag Slagar away eventually, leaving his mate, Nightpaw- "Cuddletail" –Softtail alone with her litter, which she had been so overjoyed and happy to show and share with her mate! She burst out in tears, calling aguishly for him! All who heard her, those who had felt both the same happiness just recently and now the feelings for compassion, had a hard time not to cry themselves. The nurses were shocked to have seen this happen. Even if this race had been "vermin" for the longest of time this was unacceptable, for any race!

.  
"This is outrageous! How could they do such a thing! I'm going to consult with our abbot right away, for this is nothing less then pure cruelty for _any_ animal! For claw's sake, she had even been carried into our infirmary, wounded and cold by the winter, welcomed to our abbey with open arms! I tell you, this is unforgivable! Those animals have brought shame to the name of our Redwall!"

Soon Nightpaw-Softtail was alone with only one single nurse looking out for her as she took care of her and her mate's litter, licking and drying them clean with her tongue, sobbing. The nurse spent the whole time with her, not leaving her side. The vixen needed someone – deeply. The night had been long, and eventually the cubs had stopped coming. The nurse spent some more of her time, even after all fox- and vixencubs had been cleaned and were sleeping curled up to their mother. The foxes' stomachs peacefully heaved up and down as they slept, that too, peacefully.

An eternity after, the nurse quietly rose up and headed for the door. She made the fire from the candles glow pleasantly before she left for her bed. She remained in the doorway for a little longer… When she eventually left, she whispered a goodbye to each and every fox and vixen. Now the vixen was completely left alone with her sleeping litter, she and all her "kits" without their mate and father! As Nightpaw-Softtail did everything she could to sleep, she licked her kits uncontrollably, but with great care, whimpering and with tears forming in her eyes, even if she had shut them long ago. She shivered with sadness.


	14. Reunion

_Chapter X - Reunion_

Slagar was lying in wait on a bed for anyone to appear before him. He would rather want to find a hidden escape route. His head jerked up when a messenger eventually arrived for him.

"Now who are you?" When he saw who stood in the door, he sat up, but only with his front legs standing.

"Wait…you're that ferret! I ought to…!"

"No, rest easy, my friend!" she pulled down her hood. "I'm no ferret! I'm a redwaller, see!"

Slagar backed off, gave her a weird look, then he settled back down.

"So, there!" the female squirrel tried to give him a smile. "Relax, I mean no harm, I come in peace! I have to tell you, you did get wild in the end, which is no wonder, now when we know what you were doing. When looking back at it, we realize how guilty we are now. And we are terrible sorry… You see, it's because…" the apologizing squirrel was interrupted in the middle of her forgiveness'.

"So it _was_ you…" She looked really shameful when she bowed occasionally as she spoke to Slagar. She spoke with long messages, but Slagar listened carefully for every detail in them, so in a sense, he had some interest in her story and listened with some enthusiasm.

"We're sorry to have acted that way, but we had to. I'll explain why it had to go like this. You see, the abbot, nor any of our fighters, had been notified of foxes being inside the abbey. As we Redwallers know by now, they would most certainly want to keep things under control so that they could make a proper and fair judgement by the time the visitors are being under watch. It would be the same for you two, specially because your vixen friend was injured, but sadly, before we had any chance to see our wise ones, you had broke loose and was wandering around before that could happen, making us forced to find you first – incase you would be a danger. So we had to prioritize, not taking any chances. Because chances could be that you could do harm to the young'uns, so we felt forced to follow you first, then speak to the abbot, see. So if we just had just known a little more about you in time, we would know that you were friendly and why you went lose, and then we wouldn't have done what we did. Again, we're _terrible_ sorry for having you forced away from your newly increased family! We apologize for our bad behaviour! Our humble apologizes, traveller... You now see how wrong things can go…"

Slagar could see the point. It had just been a big misunderstanding, or rather, a big mess. Everything had happened so fast that the casual animals had been forced to act single-pawedly, in first paw done what they thought were the best for their safety and younglings, incase he and his mate had been vermin. And this had actually, ironically, ruined for the family that they had saved them from. The only ones that had gotten any chance to know anything about the travellers were the ones who greeted them at the beginning. These proved how vital an abbot was for these inhabitants.

"So you're going to take me back to see my mate now?"

"Shortly." She smiled warmly to him, but the quilt never went away from her face.

"In fact, the clash between you and your family and us and our safety, both groups hadn't noticed what the other was struggling for, actually made the announcement of your arrival so urgent that it went for the abbot right away. He was even awakened!"

Slagar couldn't help but to grin.

"Long story short, which infact was a short story overall, was this: we ignored our point of view and let your rights come in firstpaw! This isn't just only fair, now when we know what we had ruined, but it's most certainly one of the greatest honor's ever to be given to foxes! And your rights were these – to see each other cry and healthy again as you would reunite together as soon as you had recovered! So yes, it's true what I said – 'shortly'! You'll be able to walk and see your mate and newborn litter, now even bigger then it had been when you last saw it!

Slagar was now sitting at the edge of his bed. "You're not trying to trick me, squirrel?"

"No, I'm serious!" you couldn't really know of the tears came from either the quilt she had or happiness. It was probably both.

The fox seemed like he was staring out into nothingness, speaking under his breath. "Softtail!"

"I can see how anxious you are to see them, your mate and your litter! I'll be brief so that I can let you go as soon as possible, yes! Now, where was I…oh yes! While I mentioned the struggle, there was another thing I wanted to tell you. It's that I'm very glad that you didn't start any unnecessary brawls while inside our abbey. That _could _cause trouble for you. Besides, also think about how it would make you look in front of your mate and kits if you did."

Slagar seemed to be looking at her again instead of being in his own world. He nodded. "It's strange, when you think about it, how bad moment's infact may turn out to have good points… Now, squirrel, carry on!"

Yes, right away, and I'll try to be as brief as I can! Now, about the single-pawed actions we took, I should tell you that it's just an old habit for our abbey to be cautious and always think of our own dibbuns in firstpaw." This was exactly what Slagar had already guessed a while ago. "You would do the same, right?"

Slagar looked at her, like if he was asking her 'me?' with a guilty look on his face. Slagar looked down at the floor. "We would… For me, my priority have always been something I would put before everything in my life, even other's."

She didn't want the fox to wait too long for her to finish her conversation with him, so she just gave him a proper, honest but short answer so that she could continue. "I know how you must feel…"

A long pause. Then there was a nod. Slagar thought out loud to himself.

"So it wasn't that ferret that pulled me away from my mate then. It was you. So if I summarize what happened; to unknown outsiders you have some sort of a habit of having them under watch while the 'superiors' of yours tries to learn as much as they can about then, then makes an decision based on the solutions you got when you discussed about what would best fit and work with your abbey's rules and all that other talk. So, if we had _only_ been informed of this as we arrived here, I wouldn't have done what I did, and I may have been together with my mate as our cubs were born! Urgh, that ferret. He should have had told us _everything_, _definitely _including _this_, too!… Argh, why didn't he mention this at all! How could he have missed _this_! How else would he expect me to react!

The squirrel looked at him curiously. "Excuse me, but, what ferret?" Now the roles were changed, between informer and the uninformed.

"One with a cloak. The one that locked me in here and who I thought took me away - but that had been you. Wait, weren't you the one who he talked to when we first got here?"

She looked away shamefully and guilty. "I… I can't say. There's no ferret."

Slagar jerked up. "What's that?"

She turned away even more from him."No, I can't, they'll…"

"Speak to me!" Slagar felt that something was wrong now. "What's going on, you have to tell me. If I would guess, I would say that someone is using you!"

Her head jerked and she looked wide-eyed into Slagar's serious face. She stammered. "I…I…I…"

Slagar rose up and laid a paw on her shoulder. "Don't worry about that now, you shouldn't think about it right now – you have another more important thing you should worry about instead."

She looked up. "What is it?"

"My mate…" Slagar spoke lowly. "I would like to see her now, right away if possible."

She nodded. "Right. I wouldn't dare to imagine something different from you. This just proves how such a good mate you must be. You're loyal."

Slagar didn't say anything. The female walked over to open up the door for him and lead him to his family, when she suddenly turned around and added one last thing to him:

"And then there's another thing I have to tell you…," she looked down. "I think your poor loved one probably cried herself to sleep..."

"Then the more reason for me to get to her as soon as possible…"

* * *

The sun was soon about to come up. The vixen in Redwall, Nightpaw-Softtail, was sleeping soundlessly, whimpering and murr:ing in her sleep. Her worries would soon be over, for the day hadn't only brought the sun, but another surprise was awaiting her as well. Slagar arrived to the room where she slept. Low lights dimly lit up the room, and he could only see very little of his mate and new litter. He smiled to himself when he saw them, but his expression became one of sorrow when he heard her noises as he had walked inside a few steps. This made him stop.

"Awww…poor thing." He said quietly. He continued forward. When he reached where his mate and kits slept, he circled around them all. Then his body lay down around them all. His head got placed down behind her head, and he gently nibbled her ear, but mostly, he was licking her gently. Nightpaw-Softtail made a curious sound, like she wondered what she had heard in her dream.

Slagar continued, sometimes whispering to her how much he had missed her, stroking his head with hers. Eventually she was beginning to wake up. She was half-awake, staring out into one direction. Eventually she noticed that someone was pottering about with her, feeling the touches of different sorts. That early in her awakening she hadn't yet remembered that she had had kits before she slept, so she struggled to see who was touching and playing with her. To her joy, she saw a fox.

"Slagar! O, Slagar, are you really here now? Is it really you?" her joy woke her up partly, and she uncontrollably licked him and stroked her head against his and other places on his body where she could reach while she was in her ball-formed position, and now with _five_ additional foxes/vixens inside that ball.

"They let me go. But I refuse to talk about it with you now; I don't want us to have any worries right now. I only want us to spend as much time as we are able, together, with each other, and our little ones."

She remembered with a wave of happiness inside of her when she remembered that they had become a real family now. "Awww, that's right! Our kits! Aw, here they lay…aw, they're so small and cute and so warm, aren't they beautiful and cute?" She stroked her head, and she had closed her eyes again, meeting Slagar's. "Isn't this wonderful, mate?"

For the first time, he was actually able to see them properly and close up. It was even the first time he could actually even manage to get a _sniff_ at them! He stroked his head with hers.

"Yes. I whole heartedly agree. I may not remember my past, but however it was back then, I can still bet every string of hair from my pelt that I have never witnessed anything like _this_. Heh, less even been able to _experience_ it!

She had been licking and pushing her nose and muzzle deep into the group of kits as Slagar spoke. When he finished, Nightpaw-Softtail turned around to give him a lick. "One day you may remember your past."

He looked away briefly, and with a nod, he gave her head a stroke. "Yeah…maybe."

She managed to smile. He had missed them _so_ much, for he hadn't seen them since they found that den in the forest outside the red walls. "Maybe it's like that funny riddle my mommy used to play with us with. It went something like this: 'is a memory lost – when it's forgotten?' Well, what do you think?"

He smiled back at her. "that's a funny riddle. And it sounds quite wise, too. But now let's not talk about that. Actually, the things I'm thinking about right now are; how I can see you teaching our cubs."

She smiled again, shut her eyes again and put her head under his chin. She sighed deeply with satisfaction. "I am sure that my dreams, not even my best dream, will be as wonderful as my reality." And with that, she slept in, close to her mate.

He looked at her for a while. Before he decided to sleep himself, he leaned over to her tummy where the litter slept, and he nudged and gave a lick to every single one. "Sleep well, minifoxes," he said and then he put his head back on top of Nightpaw-Softtail's, like she had wanted, then tried to get some sleep himself.

_What a day! For a vixen – and fox._


	15. Flower of Redwall

_Chapter XI – Flower of Redwall_

"How are the foxes doing?"

The otter nurse Indigo and abbot Mordalfus stood before a large window.

"!"They were watching the two parent foxes being outside with their litter from above. Spring seemed to come early in Mossflower, for already was the sun hot, while the shadows were stone cold, so Slagar had used what had been left of the torn now all black (with just a few glittering shapes left) cape to use as the litters blanket, which they had decided to use it as on the day they had prepared to leave Nightpaw-Softtail's old den! Which she had wore with the starlit night looking inside inside-out when they travelled. Slagar was moving, sometimes running, around their kits, teasing and playing with them to get them in the mood to play. Nightpaw-Softtail was close by, sitting, watching over them all, wide joyful smile on her face as she watched them.

"They are just alright, Indigo! The parents are now healthy and all youthful at new – and both have earned new hope for that last mentioned to increase. Because of the litter they now have received, they have a big reason for that youthful energised kick to blossom inside of them both! So I think, no, I _know_ that they are having it just fine the both of them! I wouldn't be surprised if this was the happiest moment in their _lives_! Parenthood is a mysterious thing; even for those we consider '_vermin'._ Never forget that, young one."

"_Never_, abbot! I'm also worried about how some of us take it of having foxes in our abbey, because it may be too early to see foxes for some of us, due to the events that happened not too long ago."

Mordalfus nodded without looking away from the courtyard perfectly visible from their window. "Ah, yes. The one who was last known as '_Slagar_', – the cruel. But even then, and take this from me; you should always know your enemy. What we consider evil is a good deed for a vermin. And vice versa. So therefore, we cannot let our abbey judge an animal by either past experiences or race. Redwall should always give each and every beast a chance if they arrive in peace. Don't you think so, too?"

"_Of course_, Mordalfus! You're as wise as ever, and your justice never seem to fail! I so wish that every one of us is as understanding as we are right now. I so don't wish to see anything happen to these poor creatures… It saddens me when I look at them and wonder if anything will happen too them in the future… I couldn't stand any parent or dibbun to lose one's happiness – nor the opportunity to experience a whole life filled of it, neither be it because of evil or injustice. That's why I plead for this Redwall and it's allies to do it's best to make sure that Mossflower is a place to live forever without having any of these dangers from happening. Even to good-hearted 'villains'. I hope you know how I feel, abbot, and even if it may sound strange coming from a Redwaller like me… I really wish for _nothing_ to happen to these foxes…"

"There's nothing strange in your words, child! Like I told you once – no one is _born_ evil. It's just these wars of power struggling between tribes that have unfortunately made us fight with each other. So as long our Redwall gives anybeast a chance, we will always be on the right track."

"Thank you, 'Alf'." She grabbed his paw and looked down at the floor. "For cheering me up. I thank thee."

She stood there for a while before any of them spoke again. Surprisingly, she was the one to answer first.

"If you excuse me 'Alf', but now I want to see these foxes." Together they looked down at the courtyard from their window. Mordalfus turned his head to look at her face again, and she smiled at him. He smiled back.

"No one is stopping you, my dear."

She smiled again and turned around to leave the room, when the abbot suddenly remembered one last subject he wanted to ask her about.

"Oh, that reminds me! Wait a little longer, Indigo. There's something I forgot to ask you! Good! Now… what was it really that we treated the vixen from?" The otter began explaining.

"The bleeding came from her face, and when she was cleaned up we discovered the cut, which is going to leave a scar across her left eye. Fortunately, the scar is separate, so it didn't cross over the eye itself. So she _is _a little disturbed by some slight ache coming from around that eye, but her vision is untouched and as clear and bright as ever. So she can see just fine!" she added a smile. This pleased the abbot to hear.

"Those are some good news to start the day with! Now, young child, I think you are anxious to meet them now, hm?"

"Of course, 'Alf'! Oh, by the way, abbot. What about the rumours of the strange activities in Mossflower?"

Mordalfus looked up at the ceiling as he put his paws on his back. "Ah. The mystery of the disburdening in the forest. Yes, I'm somewhat aware of the situation. I do not know why this is happening; neither do I know who they are. But one thing is sure; that I do not hope that these troublemakers are seeking a war. For then…the animals in Mossflower will suffer ever more then they already do…

"I have to be honest to you, Alf." Indigo looked very serious. "But this is one of the reasons I am afraid of these foxes' well being. I fear that they are the ones that hurt our vixenmother friend of ours…"

* * *

Nightpaw-Softtail was watching as her mate was cuddling with each and every soft fluffball of theirs. She couldn't help herself from smiling widely of joy and happiness, for now, her hopes for a happy life with a mate and litter – a family – was really happening in front of her eyes! She was so happy. After a while, she called her mate over to her.

"Mate! Don't forget about me!" she wagged her tail when he stopped and walked over to her, grinning and with eyes like if he had discovered an helpless prey. He came up to her sitting pose and she yelped when he moved her down to fall backwards on the grass! He stood over her, looking at her. She was happy and smiling at him! He lowered his head and stroked his head with her's. Moments later he was unable to help himself from not laying down onto of her, and so they lay in the grass, tummy meeting another soft white furred belly. She giggled!

As they cuddled, the otter was walking towards them. She saw the two foxes on the grass as they laid there busy with each other.

"My, hello there, sweetheart loverfoxes!" the vixen turned her head where she was laying while the fox could raise his whole neck, being able to see the otter with raised head and properly while Nightpaw-Softtail only saw the female in an awkward way with her paws in midair to her right.

"Oh, sorry, did I interrupt something?" she wanted to prove her innocence to them by laughing with her hearts content.

Slagar seemed shy and slowly tried to move away from his mate, but Nightpaw-Softtail simply giggled when she saw the visitor, unlike him.

"No, not at all!" She was able to sit up again, but she hadn't noticed how her mate Slagar looked like when he had backed away. "Please, come and join us!"

"With pleasure!"

"You're welcome!" Nightpaw-Softtail was more open when she talked nowadays. No worries in the world, so why shouldn't she be?

"Thank you! Aw, so these are the little dibbuns! Aw, just look at them! Naw, they look so cute and they are so small!" she couldn't help herself from stroking them or picking them up to hug them and cuddle with them.

Nightpaw-Softtail leaned her head curiously as she still innocently smiled. "'Dibbuns'?"

"That's a little nickname for our children! You know, the younglings! We thought it sounded cute!"

Nightpaw-Softtail's tail began to wag and her ears stood up. "Ah, I know! Like kitlings! 'Dibbuns' means kits!"

"You could say that!" Indigo smiled back at her. Then she remembered she had wanted to ask, and she did with big curiosity. By the way, have they got any names, yet?

The mother vixen was still doing all the talking, because Slagar still hadn't felt ready enough of being able to speak properly. But his eyes could tell anyone, those who happened to see him which none did at that time, that he shared the same interest as the females. "As a matter of fact, we actually haven't!" she giggled. "Can you believe that! My! Goodness, we really haven't!"

Indigo smiled with her new friend and because of the energy Nightpaw-Softtail had. She was a cute and fun mother to be with, she thought. "Well, what names do you think they could get?" Slagar had no ideas for names (he didn't remember any other name then his own and Nightpaw-Softtail's, anyhow), so he didn't speak now either.

"My…I really do not know." She looked up at the sky, smiling as she did. "But maybe I should do like my parents did, and play a little game with them."

"What sort of game?" Indigo asked curiously.

She looked back at the otter. "A fun game were the kits chooses their own names! But usually, to my knowledge, we found out our own names when the time was right, such as when we feel the best, like when you are the most happy you can become, moments such as when we find 'the love'. Take our encounter for example – I got this name, '_Nightpaw-Softtail_', because it fit the description of my mood and state during that time the best! I remember paws as black as the night we spent under the stars cuddling for the very first time, as the moon was the only thing that lit up our surroundings. Oh, it was so romantic! And then I also remember the softness of our tails, tails moving softly together to meet each other's mate, tails from two foxes in love!

And because Cuddletail described your feelings just as well during that moment - like the other names -, leaving it would be like losing a part of yourself and your past, so you saved it by using it as a nickname! Ain't that right, mate?" Now finally it was Slagar who had spoken.

"Absolutely!" She turned her head around to give her mate a warming smile. He always seemed to know how she thought! "As I said, the best names we can only find out by ourselves, not by our parents, during the moment we are experiencing the best part of our lives! So actually, I would change my name right now! But no, I think the name I have now fits as perfectly as it did then! Only this time, there's 'cuddling soft tails' from more then just us two now! I'm quite relieved of not having to change my name again. Besides, that name will always remind me of that night we spend together, my love. That's probably the meaning and reason why my parents got the idea! Yeah, I believe that was why!"

The ottermaid had listened with interest and fascination by their story. "Wow, that's a fascinating story! That was very original of them! It sounds fun, too! I think I should try it sometime! So, what do you two think they could be called by now, then?"

"Hmmm, I don't know." She looked around to get some inspiration. While she was looking around, she heard Slagar say something, who was somewhere behind here and had just recently walked over to stand beside her, who was still sitting.

"Cuddletail, look over there! At one of the vixens, can you see it? What's she doing?"

The otter had turned around to see what the fox and vixen was looking at.

"She smells on one of the flowers!" Nightpaw-Softtail said almost excitingly, all three of them (if you don't count the other kits that happened to look at her) looking at one of the kit vixens as she smelled at the new sprouted flowers that blossomed inside the Redwall courtyard.

"She has discovered a newly sprouted flower!" Nightpaw-Softtail continued, looking at one of her and Slagar's vixen kits as she stood and smelled at one flower without moving away from that spot. "Now I know what I shall call her! 'Red-Flower'!"

"Redflower?"

"What a good idea! She's the 'Flower of Redwall' now, isn't she, that little adorable beauty!"

Nightpaw-Softtail looked proudly at their first named kit as she smiled warm-heartedly at her. She stood up and walked over to that kit, looking right down at the ground so that her nose stroked the top at the little kit's head. Curiously it looked right up, unaware of why her mother was doing what she did, which any kit her age would have done. Then her mother lay down and pulled the sitting vixen close to herself, having her kit closely tucked between her paws as she cuddled with it.

* * *

"Do not worry, 'Indi'. I have asked Redwall and our allies close-by to be on alert if they see any bad deed take place. So you can rest easy. Mossflower is still a safe place to live. That is all. You may go and meet your foxes now, dear!" Fahrenheit almost looked dumbstruck when she remembered what she had deeply wanted to do just a minute ago!

"Almost forgot! Well, thank you again, my abbot! Good bye for now, 'Alf'! Meet you later!"

"Good bye!"

And with that, they were separate, but abbot Mordalfus would see everything of what happened in the courtyard for a while longer. He chuckled with his hearts content when he saw the foxes' and otter's different reactions when Indigo appeared before them without them noticing her! He didn't have any regrets of having been woken up in the middle of the night that day to have helped these foxes, now when he could see those foxes enjoying themselves with everything that their new life had to offer. He never regretted it.

In secrecy, a squirrelmaid had overheard everything Indigo and the abbot had talked about. When they were finished, she quietly disappeared to find the 'Redwall Ferret'. She had to be careful not to forget any vital information which she had to remember when she met him. Eventually later on, she had found him. Like usual, he kept himself hidden from every redwaller, except from his messenger, the female squirrel. Long ago she had come to Redwall, having lost her mate, and so the animals in the abbey had taken her in. One day, not too long ago, she had been walking in Mossflower when a gang of vermin had run into her. Unarmed and being one who is afraid of fighting she was easily taken captive, where they found out about her past and that she now lived in Redwall. They had taken her to their leader, who got the brilliant idea of using her as a spy against her own friends and family. She of course refused, but it was then the leader made his move that made her unable to refuse: her mate was now a prisoner of theirs! Unable to save him, she had no other choice but to do as they said, or else her mate, or both of them, would die.

Now she was going to deliver a message to one of the ferrets of that group. When he heard of this, he was not pleased.

"Dave found out abaut our akteveetes 'n Mossflower? Dis is not good. Dis doss not bode well!" he turned around to think, pacing slowly. "Dis means ve hafta strike naw if we want t' have any chance of getting' 'er cubs… Very well, I'll hafta go an' see the leader 'hen. You just stay 'ere – and aye'll have yor mate's tail if you even think of double-crossin' us now to dem Redwallians!"


	16. Prelude to the Prologue?

Let's see now! One change (noted with an "!" so you will know where you should look for the add'. Its decent length and in the middle of text!) at chapterXI!  
Check it out, it's the chapter before this one! It's a detail I strangely forgot to add to that scene.

Next, I will just clear anything I didn't explain too well about the kits. One, I said: "first they were 3 kits, 5 when he came back. 7 foxes overall." Now, 3 and 5 doesn't become 7 now, does it? I said that there was 3, then 5 when he saw his mate again, and they are 7 all together, so there's parent foxes in Redwall with a 5 kits litter. Secondly, I always speak of what is _natural_ (like the guess of Cuddletail's eyes and the information of kit eyes. They get their brown-yellow (goldish, like their mother) when they are older!)

But, like always, I leave every detail I left out for you readers to decide! Be my guests!

Answering every single question will wait, but the chapters will answer the rest of them. So I haven't overlooked NOTHING! Yay! It's great, I know, hehe. So don't worry!

And no, I'm not creeped out by being hugged and kissed by a total stranger, hehehe!

It said on my profile before, and it said something like "_A Red Fox male with fur like a fox would normally look like with it's red, black and white_, etc", hehehe. So, last I checked, I was a male.

By the way, I simply just might add. That's a really cute description you have there, _Redflower the vixen_! I agree with you whole-heartedly. Well, here you are; a new chapter and other changes to the story. So enjoy!

I won't keep you wasting your time with my chattering for any longer now. Again, enjoy!

* * *

_Chapter XII – Traces of a Prelude_

* * *

"Jiskard, _stop it_! I don't want ye, yer _filthy _male, fer I dun wanna be yon mate no more! You 'ear me! I don't wanna see ye no more!" 

"Aw, what's gotten into yew? Weren't the two o' us all buddy-buddy before?"

The two white ferrets were struggling deeply inside Mossflower, almost invisible from sight from anyone who would happen to look in their hideout's direction, until you would focus on it for too long, you would be able to make out that it wasn't a part of the forest. The male ferret, Jiskard, was laying above the female ferret, having her claws out to put up a resistance.

"That was before! The day you and your real buddy messed with that last vixen, I had enough. I dun want ta be with dis gan' no more!"

"The boss will keel ye! The only reasun he even bothered to take us into his gang was because we promised him in his silly game of finding foxlitters for no reason! Ye see now what he will do to you when he hears you won't continue to obey him! That's raight, keel you!"

She pushed him away from her and she stood up, walking away from the nearly invisible hideout.

"'hen let 'im! Am through with 'his!"

"Yer insane!"

She didn't stop. That was when he tried to a different approach, with a calmed down voice.

"Well, if yer leavin', then I think it won't matter if I would tell you that we are not through with that recent vixen we met either!"

She turned around abruptly.

"What was that? What are you and your buddies up to now?"

"Well, it seems that pregnant foxbitch-"

"_Female fox_!"

He looked down at the grass, starting over. "That this pregnant female wasn't as innocent as we thought. As you may remember, we were in a hurry to leave because you spotted another one coming, perhaps towards her home, so we took no chances and so we left. Anyway, that vixen, according to our leader, that female fit the description perfectly."

She looked at him, leaning her head forward the small length that her neck could. "What description?"

"Of the cruel one's mate."

She backed three steps.

"You mean, she may be…?" He nodded.

"That's right." Now it was her turn to stare at the grass, don't wanting to think that that vixen, as innocent as she looked when she was resting in her den, was the mate of a cruel male. It didn't make any sense!

"But…no…no, that can't be right! Slagar mated when he was still very young, maybe even then not yet known as 'Slagar'!"

"Then perhaps he mated again!"

"Perhaps…but, wait, that doesn't sum up either?"

"Now what?"

"If he did, he must have…" she shook her head. "no, it can't be his' litter."

"And why not?" he raised his arms up as if he had given up. She looked at him like if he was stupid.

"Hello? Have you forgotten? He's DEAD!"

"Well…" he tried what he could to think of a smart possible solution to the event. "Maybe because it was the last thing he did before he died? For all we know, that could have been this 'great reward' Malkariss granted him; - a female!

"Now yer just being silly!"

"Who's bein' silly? Yor the one who's leavin'!"

"So?" She put her paw on her hip. "I won't you leave you alive after this last conversation of ours if you do anything against that innocent vixen!"

"Aw, what now? You feeling sorry for her? Maybe even guilty for what you did? Get over it – you're being ridiculous!"

"Enough!"

"Silence, female!" He shouted back. "For all I know, this rebellion of yours could just be a way of taking my position in our gang – my duty about working inside those red walls!"

She looked at him like if he was being hopeless, maybe even sickened her. "And that makes you think you got every authority enough to make you able to play with her and her unborn litters life like if they meant nothing? What've happened to you, Jiskard! What did the boss offer you for making these horrible acts!"

"What you trying to do now, stop me?" He raised his arms in that defeated-looking way again, but this time like if he had been hurt. "You're dead anyway now, you ungrateful brat. Instead of a life in luxury, I'll report your treachery to boss and you will be followed by your old friends until they catch you! What happens to you then, I don't want to get a picture of."

"How DARE you call your future a life of luxury!" she barred her teeth and made a low growl. "And to get there, you and your friends will kill even pregnant mothers to get there? How pathetic you have become… I don't know you anymore, Jiskard…!"

"Enough!"

"NO! It's you who have gone far enough!"

She turned around and walked away again. He didn't want her to escape so that her presence could be spotted by Redwall guardians on the top of the walls. For maybe then HE would be the one to suffer the consequences! He came up behind her and grabbed her around her waist, making her getting an urge to scratch him up, but he had pushed her down on the grass before she could react. He sat down astride over her, shaking his head.

"This day you have said nothing else but things that have cost your life…! I was going to become your _mate_!"

"No, Jiskard. You WERE, and you LOST it. Ye're no mate."

"No. NOW is when our relationship ends…" he slowly raised his knife, the same he had used when he wounded Nightpaw. He was just about to sink it down into the female, when suddenly a voice shouted at them from the distance.

"_Drop your weapons_!"

This made him slowly rose up from his sitting position, yelling back. "Who goes there! I'll slay any witnesses!" With that, an arrow hit him in the arm he used to wield his knife. The female ferret took her chance. He wasn't pressing her down the ground no more. Being able to move, she reached for the recently dropped knife, and finished him off. The last seconds of his life he used to stare down at her, in disbelief of the fact that he was taken off-guard. He never realized that he had been taken off-guard twice before he fell down in the hot, sun warmed grass, where he would lie until he slowly died.

The female stood up, without the knife in her paw, her paws rose up to show that she was unarmed and weren't a threat.

"Hold yer fire! Ye've saved me from him now; ye don't need to aim at me no mo'e! To prove I'm not on the enemy side, I'll tell you were they are!"

The warriors stepped closer and now she could see that they were from Redwall. She told them everything. Then they let her run off, with a warning if she would betray them. She ran off, and when she finally stopped, and thought out loud to herself about her main priority.

"Now I have to warn that fox litter mother!"

Meanwhile, the Redwallers were speaking to each other.

"Send someone after 'er incase she sent us into a trap! For all we know, that ferret we hit may have been one of their victims and she happened to be the one to do the killin', if you know what I mean. If we are fortunate boys, that she was actually tellin' us the truth, well then we have happened to sneak up on the enemies, behind enemy lines, not necessarily behind them, but the element of surprise is still going to be on our side!

* * *

"Grrr! One of them worthless beasts must have either screwed up or we have a traitor! I damn them!" 

It was a young vixen that spoke angrily. She was a spitting image of a young Slagar the Slaver, like how he would look if he was cry and healthy during that time and if he was a female instead.

A male fox walked over to her, worry on his face. He was going to talk about their leader, but his worry seemed to come out of concern to the one he cared about the most.

He looked like a male version of Slagar's mate Nightpaw-Softtail.

"Master will not like this…" he shook his head like if he had been hurt. He was concerned about their fate. "what do you think he will do when he hears about this?"

"Well he won't be happy to hear that the Redwallers found out about the activities in Mossflower. This will make our plan of using their precious abbey as a stronghold against our leader's battle more difficult to achieve. We will have to use our secondary plan." She lowered herself closer and leaned over their hideout and stared down at the gang, her tail wagging back and forwards furiously. "Arrrgh, I damn those beasts! This is their entire fault! We'll probably be the ones to take the entire quilt for something THEY messed up!"

He walked over to console her. "There, there, everything will be alright sis, everything will be alright…"

"No, brother!" She turned around to face her brother with shut eyes, watering from them, face frowned hard.

"It won't! He may not do something against us personally; because we are very important to him, but one of his closest in command may be angry at us for thinking WE are guilty for leading his or her friend into death. Yes, he does keep us watched so nothing happens to us, but we won't be safe from others of putting the blame on us when he won't see us! And if we told him that someone did this to one of us, that beast may whisper to our leader and say that we are telling lies! Then _nothing_ will matter anymore. He will become furious, think we are ungrateful against that 'generosity' of his, thinking we betrayed it."

She growled at the last sentence.

"He's paranoid and naïve, I know he will. He'll trust anything. For hell's teeth, he even thinks our father is still alive and that someday we will meet him and our mother!"

He looked down at the ground, looking for words. He didn't know what to say. But soon, he confronted her with his soothing voice.

"If something happens to you, I will take your side and protect you."

Her head jerked up and her eyes snapped up, her eyes wide, her whole face showing worry.

"No, you can't! I don't want you hurt in my place!" she lay down on her tummy and looked worriedly at him, her tail showing the same signs of worry.

"Don't worry, sister. I'll take your share of the pain if I have to. I won't see anyone hurt you. Never. I _love_ you, sis."

She stared down at the grass, looking at the same spot where her paws laid.

"Don't worry, everything will turn out fine. I promise."

He turned around and left. She remained where she laid for a little while longer, when she then decided to stand up to express her concerns by letting her sorrows out by yelling at the gang.

"Curse you, you beasts! I hate you! I hate you _all_! _Now_ look at what you have done! This is all your _fault_!"

* * *

"And what shall we call this one?" 

Slagar and Nightpaw were lying on a soft, wide bed, so that no kit would fall off. Fortunately, if that happened, it would be a short fall, and they would fall down at the pillows that were placed around the entire bed.

"Hmmm, let's see now…" Nightpaw looked upwards, like if she was staring at stars on a pitch black sky for her answers. When she looked back at the kit, she had a name for him.

"Fluffy!"

Slagar couldn't help but grin. If it was because of her kit-like playfulness or if it was because of the cuteness in her behaviour as she decided names to their kits, he knew for sure that he was smiling for something he liked very much with her.

"Fluffy?"

She looked back innocently at him, tilted head and with an innocent smile to add up to her innocent look. "Well, he has the softest fur, doesn't he?"

Slagar stroked along the mentioned fox's fur, the kit laying flat on its tummy.

"Well, let us hope he will have the thickest, softest winterfur when the snow comes, eh? Hehehe! Maybe he will even at summer! Such a fitting name, though. You're so witty!

"Thank you!" she wagged pleased.

"Now, are there any more cubs that haven't got a name yet?"

"Well, let's see now… aw, would you look at that! All she does is sleeping!"

Slagar turned his head to the side to look at which kit she was talking about. He smiled when he saw her. "Well, maybe dreaming is what she loves the most?"

She and her mate looked at the sleeping kit for a while, a smile forming on her features. "Yes, well as I said, all she does is sleeping. And I know the perfect name for her!"

He turned to look at her, somewhat curious. "You do?"

Nighpaw slightly rose up so that she could get closer to the kit, ending up with her muzzle very close to the sleeping vixen.

"I know what your name will be, little one, and I'm sure you will love it to when you hear it." She added a smile when she finished her sentence. "Won't you, Dreamer?"

Like if she had heard her mother, it turned around in its sleep and reached out its paws towards Nightpaw and got a grip at her muzzle! This reaction made Nightpaw really happy!

"That… You were right, Softtail. It's perfect, I can't see her with any better name!" he nodded towards her to put extra honesty to his words. "It really fits her!"

"I'm glad you like it." She went over and gave him a kiss.

When she had, and she laid back down where she had laid before, he leaned over to reach her, thinking of giving her something back to show his affection to her and to show her that he appreciated her tenderness she gave him. But he was interrupted to do anything because she spoke to him before he managed do anything.

"Oh, Slagar. Can't you be so kind and bring me some food? I hear that our kitlings are getting hungry, even Dreamer woke up now! They are all hungry, the little cuties. Please Slagar, can you see if there's anything I can eat? I can't leave them; they need an adult's warmth and a mother's milk. I know how much you care about our family, so for your trouble you can join me later so we can warm them together! Wouldn't that be lovely?

"I wouldn't want anything else." He accepted his duty as a male parent and stood up. "Very well, I'll go see what I can do. Don't you worry, I won't be long. You feed the family by then, and I'll make sure their mother gets fed, too."

She smiled at him when he was walking down their bed. "I love the way you playfully tease!"

He turned around when he reached the floor. "There will be more for that later. For now, let's just leave it at that until I get back. See you, sweetie. Love you." And with that, he continued to move.

"Good bye, my dear! I love you!" She wagged her tail playfully and excitedly to herself.

Excitedly waiting for him to return so that they could be together soon again!

* * *

One his way down the stairs, he looked around him as he heard activity near the entrance to the abbey. One of the mice was armed with a sword which seemed to be a little too big for a mouse to handle, but somehow he could. They sounded eager to tell something, and the receivers of the news seemed relieved to hear whatever they now had been told. He figured it had nothing to do with him, so he didn't bother them. 

He made his way to the dinning room. Some of the abbey animals were already eating. If it was a week before, he could bet that most of them would have been startled to see a stranger of such an uncommon visitor. Especially since the last fox hadn't really been honest of his appearance during one of their many feasts. But now, everyone in the abbey knew of the two foxes, the parent foxes, and everybody seemed somehow joyful whenever someone became parents, even if they weren't even their own race! Slagar thought.

This abbey pack of animals were really strange, he continued to think. But in no way unfriendly. They never meant harm. At least, always tried not to. Every pack has their own little rascal, he thought as he tried to hide his low chuckle, not able to hide his grin.

Because of that, the animals at the table accidentally saw this as a smile coming from him. They smiled back and some waved at him.

"Oi, fox! Come join us! There's still enough for you!"

He sat himself down on a chair, but he seemed eager to get off it. "That's good. Maybe I'll just take a small bite. But what I really came down here for was because I have to give my mate some food."

One of the animals who sat around the table, the otter Indigo, spoke next. "Tell us what she needs then!"

"Well," he thought, slightly looking up and away, like if an apple in a tree beside him was bothering his hunger, and he looked like if he was starving for the slightest chew. "I really don't know, but, I guess she would like…meat?"

They seemed to back away while they sat in their chairs, which of course, would be impossible. "Well…I guess she would," said on of the other animals. "But, don't you know if she can eat something else?"

Slagar thought again for a brief moment. "I don't know…but somehow I can see her being more thrilled of seeing me carrying an apple in my mouth than meat…"

"Well, why don't you try then, foxie? It wouldn't hurt, would it? Then do it! Surprise her! Maybe she does like fruits and berries!"

"It wouldn't surprise me, for I have never even _seen _her eat meat." Slagar revealed. "And when around her, she _never _smelt of it, either…"

"Then I'm sure she eats berries and fruit!" Slagar seemed unsure.

"Well…what else have you got?"

Yet another animal had its chance to slip in a few words to their discussion. "Oh, I can promise you that the list was as long that it would make any dibbun fall asleep! Right now, we only got apple cider, apples, very fresh cherry berries, rhubarbs and crunchy rhubarbs pie left! Which would you and your mate prefer?"

Slagar almost had an urge to open his mouth, with a tongue lolling like if he was exhausted. But he did his best to keep himself from doing so, but even if he did a Redwaller wouldn't mind it, because it was common in Redwall to make anyone drool. There was always something in Redwall that could.

"What? You call that a few?"

"Then you would Love to see how it looked when it was full, or better less, on a celebration! Hahaha, I can imagine you fainting if you did, hahaha!"

How much do these animals really posses, Slagar though. Their resources seem infinitive! Was it really just a coincidence that they happened to have run into this place? The treating, the resting places with the soft beds and pillows, the animals themselves, the food, the playground…! It was all just too impossible to be true. Was it really like that ferret had said? Did such a place really exist? It felt like a dream, somehow, familiar…

"Why…I don't know what to tell you. I'm honoured to have you grant me with some of your food!" He lowered his head like a bow, ears flattened against his head and backwards, and the tail making an easy but elegant looking sweep that when he moved it, it looked as it was as light as a feather.

The animals giggled. "My, you don't have to thank us that deeply! Of course we would share you some of our food! As a friend to us, you and your family are free to eat as much as you want!"

Now he looked up from his bow, but the front body still lowered, and he seemed to be about to gasp and start stammering.

"No need for words, fox! You heard what we said! We know that your family will be very happy when they see you, and therefore, I suggest you take the finest meal you can find and surprise her!

Slagar did so, and even how many times they told him, he felt like he was stealing, the way he was just grabbing whatever he thought would suit and appreciate Nightpaw-Softtail. The amount he took, it just felt too unbelievable, even if it was just a few pieces of food, that they would actually let him take this much! In Slagar's point of view.

When he was done and satisfied with his choices, he took the food with him as he carefully walked back to their "den". As he did, a last shout was heard behind him.

"Now, go back and surprise your mate!"

* * *

The grand door that led inside to Redwall went up. They were greeted by a few Redwallers, including Matthias, who had stayed behind because he had made a strong promise to teach his son to use the Redwall sword. The warriors that stepped into Redwall were the animals who had ambushed the vermin hideout to the east deeply and amazingly hidden in Mossflower forest. 

"Greetings! Welcome back, comrades!" Matthias walked towards them, who had appeared from inside the abbey, probably spotted the Redwallian warriors from a window when they had walked through the forest. He was walking towards them to greet them with his stretched paw, holding the sheeted sword of his with the other.

The otter in charge spoke. "As much as I like to be greeted by our abbey and just get inside and relax till the sky falls down, I have urgent news which I wish that we could discuss with the abbot about."

"Well, just name it, friend. What's troubling you?

The animal looked around. "I don't wish to speak of it here. We fear that, if what knowledge we have could lead to, it could cause panic to some of our fellow Redwallers."

Matthias seemed confused. "What could it be that won't make you speak open of your troubles? Is a great danger reaching for our home?

"Nothing like that." The animal shrugged his shoulders. "Well, maybe, but that's not what troubled me, because the group we ran into is not a great threat. No, what troubles me is what I heard one of them call at us."

Matthias looked more confused now. "You were insulted? You've never let that get to you, definitely not more then a vermin threat would!" he crossed his arms. "So what did the creature tell you?"

"She was just a cub. A vixen cub. I doubt she was actually shouting at us, but nonetheless what she said is what made me hurry back here.

"And that was?" He began telling his story.

"She spoke, looking down at them from above, but from the far back – probably the one in charge; yelling at her fighters and telling them what betrayers they were, threatening them by mentioning someone who probably commands her. It was in that speech that I snapped up what worried me, and the speech went something like this: 'And how _dare_ you betray the master! And how dare you show such worthless resistance while I'm watching? You remember who I am? I'm commanding you because of my importance to our leader, because I'm the daughter of Slagar the Cruel!'"

* * *


	17. That Familiar feeling

_Chapter XIII – That familiar feeling_

"The daughter of Slagar the Slaver?"

"Yeah. And you know foxes; it would be very rare if there was only one single cub."

Matthias raises his chin as he answered the otter. "So you think they could be more?"

"Maybe, but I'm not sure." The otter shook his head.

"After all, Slagar was supposed to have been sick of something."

"Maybe it didn't make the litter good? The litter may have been bad and therefore only been very few cubs that were born?"

Matthias crossed his arms.

"Something like that. So there could be more, but it could actually just be one like you said. Well, in any case, these news relieves me."

"Why, Matthias?"

"Because this may solve the reason Mossflower haven't seemed to been itself in the recent month. So if this now is the cause, that there's a group of vermin that are up to no good, or just trying to be good but don't know how to be like that, with Slagar's daughter as a member. That's the reason I'm feeling relief. Because now we may know the cause of the disturbance."

The otter nodded. "I see."

"So, do you still want a meeting to be held with the abbot?"

"Yes, I think that would be best."

"Then I'll make it happen. Good bye old friend, I'll see you later!" He shook his comrades' paw and went back into the abbey to find the abbot.

* * *

Later that day, a meeting had been held with the abbot of Redwall – Mordalfus. The meeting was nearing its end.

"Well," Matthias said as he leaned back in his chair. "Let's summarize what we have come to conclusion: we now know a possible reason of the unusual and strange activities of unknown creatures in Mossflower. And we've made their presence known to us, so now they'll be aware of any strange activities themselves, so they may be on guard, especially if they have someone like Slagar's kin in their party. Thirdly, for about a week ago we saved an injured pregnant vixen who had been carried here by her mate. Shortly after, she gave birth, and they have been safe inside Redwall's walls since then. So life for them are going on pretty well, then?" Mordalfus spoke out next.

"Actually, it's moving on so much that we haven't even had time to ask their names! My, those first-time experiencing parents are really into being parents to their litter and doing everything they can to be with their family! So it's no wonder! Maybe one day when things settle down for them, and if the litter's time as younglings will turn out to be just as busy and challenging time as the newborn time, then we'll have to wait for that too, hahaha! But nonetheless, they are enjoying every second of it! Which we should very well let them! Parents are parents, yes? So that gives us another reason to not bothering them too much yet."

"So we shouldn't disturb them because they are busy being parents to their family - and also because they simply want to spend all their available time by being alone with just their mate and kits! Is that what you're saying? The squirrel spoke in a quick paced tone, but you still managed to snap up what he said.

"Right! You know how precious and lovely kits are for first timer parents!

"Indeed. So we'll leave them alone for a week or maybe more, yes? At least until they can manage to take breaks more often? Well, that settles it then. Meeting's over!" Matthias stood up and were about to leave along with the majority of everyone else, when another squirrel remained seated.

"Wait. Just one thing." They turned around. "While you were talking about them being safe and all that. Then you also noted that she was wounded when she got here. This made me wonder. What hurt her? And is she still safe from them?"

"My guess would be that this new party may be involved. If that's the case, we should offer them shelter here." Said Mordalfus.

"So, would that mean we should inform the foxes of this? They have the right to know, you know."

"Very well. I'll ask Indigo to do it. She is one of us that have made most contact with them. Right now she also seem to know the most of us, things such as how their past was like, how it is to be a family to them, among other things. And before you ask, no, she don't know the parent's names. Which is no wonder, like we said. But _her_ reason seems to be that she was actually more concerned about their kits' names, ho ho!" Mordalfus wiped away a fake tear from his eye corner after he had laughed. The foxes amused him and were the ones he had been most curious about lately. The other animals smiled, sharing his cheerfulness. "Anyway, as I said. She loves their company, so she'll be an excellent choice if you ask for my opinion."

They reached an agreement – nodding, or speaking in a combined 'that settles it then; then that what we'll do!'.

* * *

Indigo was walking through hallways, on her way to see someone of the Redwall foxes. On her way, a squirrel maid was catching up to her.

"Greetings, Acorn!"

"Hello, Indigo!" the squirrel smiled innocently. "Can I tag along?"

Indigo spread her arms with a wide smile. "Why, of course you may! Why wouldn't I let you? May I ask why?"

"Well, I had some time over and decided I wanted to see the foxes. Last time I spend a long time with them was during their first day here…"

"I understand, friend." Indigo patted her friend's shoulder, reminded of that day. "We'll see them together then, shall we?"

"Certainly!" A smile formed on her face. Then they walked to the foxes' "den" together.

* * *

The kits were drinking from their mother. All five of them lay tucked together around Nightpaw-Softtail's belly. Nightpaw lay curled around them, forming a ball-like shape, the tail covering the kits' backs, making their mother's ball looking shape complete like a circle, with the little foxes in the middle.

She yelped when one of her kits had nibbled a little too much at her. She looked with a smile at the kits, the guilty being somewhere among the others,

and her look and smile said something in the line of 'Oh, you little rascal! You are all just too cute! You can't get mad or even slightly irritated at cuties such as these!'

She rested her head on top of the feeding foxes. In that moment, paws where heard, approaching towards her location.

It's him! She knew it was him. She opened one eye, but remained with her head down. Maybe it could fool him of believing she was asleep, just for fun.

Her mate appeared, standing in the doorway. Slagar saw Nightpaw curled up, maybe sleeping. He couldn't talk, so he tried to get himself another way, refusing to let go of what food he had carrying in his mouth.

Mh-hrmf!

His words came muffled. No reaction. He tried again.

Mmmmrf!

At his third attempt, he walked over so he could nudge her with his nose. This time she opened her eyes, and smiled back. At this, he backed away so he could stand near the doorway again.

"Hello, love! I've waited on you! I'm so happy, now you're here!"

Slagar briefly shut his eyes, raised his chin up a bit, getting an almost proud look. Then he spoke to her, talking carefully so he could be heard while talking with food held with his fangs.

"I've goft some food for fyou, Nighftpwf! I hopf you likfe it."

She smiled as he talked, apple in his way. Slagar seemed so innocently cute whenever he got himself in those rare moments when he happened to become a victim to situations where he acted so funny.

Nightpaw noticed what he had in his mouth, and she couldn't help herself from wagging.

"Apple!"

Slagar felt a strong urge to chuckle! He remembered what happened before when he was talking to the animals which was eating. He walked over to his mate again, stretching his head to reach hers when he came to the part of the bed where he would have to step on top of the mattress, paws placed on it while the hind leg paws remained on the floor. She reached her head to meet his, and took the apple from his mouth with her fangs, placed it down next t her and started eating on it, making pleased noises as she bit it with small rapid chews.

He looked at her with some delight, faint smile. "Is it good?"

"Tasty!" she happily announced between a chew, having raised her head the few seconds she answered him, smile on her face as she used that brief pause to lick around her muzzle. She really enjoyed that apple. Wow, she hadn't had such a delicious apple such as this one since a _long_ time! Food like in Mossflower wasn't actually something you would see down in Loamhedge it seemed. Maybe that's why the animals from the north were more toughened then here – because they didn't have any apples. That's why they had to eat meat! When you saw Nightpaw-Softtail eating the food Slagar had with him, one could actually believe this imagination.

Slagar chuckled again.

When she was finished, she looked directly into his face, same smile on her face. "Do you remember what _I_ promised?"

Slagar thought for a moment, head slightly looking down, then up again when he was done thinking. "The thing about the kits?" Nightpaw waged her tail when she heard he remembered what she had promised him when he came back, which unintentionally brushed through the kits' pelts as she did.

"Yes, you remember! Come over here, Slagar! Place yourself beside your family!"

Slagar agreed to do what was expected of him. He walked over their bed and went around his mate so his tummy would meet hers' when he lay down. As Slagar lay down, he and Nightpaw together covered their litter when he did.

It felt wonderful. Lying there, with your whole family together. The soft and warm feeling being everywhere. Indescribable. This is exactly what I've wanted. I'm in love. This is what thoughts were going on inside both mates' minds. Shared dreams, shared emotions, shared wishes come true.

Soon thereon, they began playing around with each other from where they lay. From everything to noses meeting each other, or their whole muzzles, head strokes, joined up tails, licks, small nibbles with their front teeth, making the other yelp - second after whispering back to its' mates' ear how much s/he loved him/her. And a lot more!

While they lay there, two females appeared in the doorway. They soon stopped in their movement. An innocent smile forming on their faces against their will when they saw the foxes curled up.

The sight of them was adorable!

"My, this is the _second_ time I happen to disturb you when you finally find time to cuddle!"

Almost like yesterday when they were outside on the courtyard, their heads jerked up immediately when realizing someone was looking at them, very similar to that day! Just this time, there were two of them!

This time, Slagar didn't back away shyly. But the shy-like urge was still present, Nightpaw felt it. She hadn't noticed how he had shyly backed away the first time – yesterday. But this time she noticed it. But this time, he didn't move away. This time he remained calm and tried to ignore them and what they had seen, one of them who had seen them for the second time, when he had backed away shyly from Nightpaw when he had laid over her when they were discovered. This time he had their litter as close as the vixen he was cuddling with, so he felt that he had a reason to remain where he laid, unlike yesterday.

Acorn and Indigo couldn't help themselves from giggling. They were cute, yet funny at the same time. The way their heads had snapped up the way Indigo had seen them when she discovered them last time. The cute and adorable part was that they were together, cuddling, and with their whole litter with them.

"Goodness, you both are just too _cute_, aren't you? Well, I figure you want us go straight to business, wouldn't you?"

"Take all the time you want! I can see that you enjoy visiting us!"

"And we can see that you enjoy visitors!" a smile formed on Indigo's face. "Very well, we'll take our time and make it worthwhile so you can go back to what you were doing as soon as possible!"

When Indigo and Acorn sat down, they saw the kits suckling from Nightpaw's underside. They smiled. Both of them wanted to comment the parents and their family, but they both felt and realized it was one of those things they promised to the foxes that they would avoid. But when they saw that Nightpaw was smiling at them, Acorn and Indigo knew that the vixen had seen their smile and answered them with hers! Now they knew that Nightpaw knew what she thought about her and her family. So now the squirrel and otter could continue without any delays or interruptions.

"Well, where to start. Well, we came to inform you of something you may have wanted to know: we may have discovered a possible part of the gang that hurt your mate!"

Their eyes widened with interest.

"So right now you will be safe here, from any possible attempts to hurt your mate again – which I doubt they will be able to manage anytime soon again after what Redwall did to them!"

"This is positive knowledge for us to know!" Slagar was talking. "We appreciate that you bothered to let us know!"

"Oi, why wouldn't we? Yer a part of Redwall now!" Slagar and Nightpaw, even Acorn, couldn't help but to feel enjoyed by her change of accent. Nightpaw smiled and giggled, Acorn chuckled and Slagar was grinning, seeming to look a little bothered, suddenly looking like if he was worried or wanted to leave. Acorn, who had been the least with the foxes of the four of them in the room, asked him what was worrying him.

"What is it, fox? What's troubling you?

Nightpaw immediately turned her head around to look behind her, straight into the turned head of Slagar's. "Is it about the ones who hurt me you're thinking about?

"I don't know. There's just…something I thought I remembered." He lowered his head. Soon he rose it up again, looking at his mate. "But I forgot what it was. It was probably nothing."

"That reminds me. I want to ask you a _personal_ question, one who I thought on myself." Indigo changed her position so that she could sit more comfortable. The question she had was something she had thought on herself and not something he had been asked to tell them. "Are any one of you aware of any unusualties that's going on in the forest? Any hint could help us understand this gang's plans. Know anything?

"Well, I could tell you about what happened." Said Nightpaw, now looking at her. "It was about my unborn kits." Slagar felt interest. He hadn't had time, or wanted to remind her of it, to ask her about what she knew the day he found her in her den. Probably because the only answer he got the day he asked her, during his discovery, had been a painful crying telling him that she didn't know. Maybe now Nightpaw could shed some light to it? But then Indigo made an interruption during her own question.

"Speaking about kits, are you aware of a fox that was known as '_Slagar_'?"

"Strange. That's the only name I remember – I figured it was mine." Now Slagar's interest was turned to the next subject. But he was still deeply interested of his mate's story.

"Yeah, now I remember! You're having a memory loss, and back then it was a lot worse then now. It was when we introduced ourselves, and you mentioned the name 'Slagar the Cruel', but you didn't remember why you remembered it, or if it belonged to you at all, so I decided to simply call you 'Slagar the Fox'. Do you remember, mate?"

"I do, Nightpaw. Now, what was that thing about kits you mentioned?"

"Oh, right." Indigo could now continue with the question she had worn. "Well, when our Redwall fighters discovered these unknown creatures, far back, according to so-so accurate sources, he overheard a fox kit shouting. According to this source, he heard that she mentioned that they were the 'Cubs of Slagar'. The one who shouted called herself 'Daughter of Slagar'."

Nightpaw curiously stretched her head towards them. "But, then they would be my kitlings as well!"

"That's what I thought now! But your litter is new and far too young to be able to act like those foxes did!"

"Well, so I figure this coincidence is just a coincidence then, huh?" Acorn wondered. "It can't be you, then."

Slagar shook his head. "No, I don't think so. It doesn't add up. Just a coincidence."

Indigo hastily sat up, remembering their promise. "Very well, we won't bother you two no more! Bye, bye, sweethearts!" She waved at them as she was on her way to leave with Acorn, who was doing the same, both having a smile on their features as they did.

"I just got one question." Nightpaw stopped them from leaving. When they stopped, she smiled at them. "I'm curious."

"Yes, Nightpaw?" they were still smiling the way they were doing it as they had been about to leave.

"Did this 'Slagar' go by any other name, excluding 'the cruel', I mean?"

"I can answer that." The squirrel sat down again. "In fact, fair vixen, there seem to have been several. Including Slagar, the Sly one, the Slaver, the Cruel, Chickenhound, Lunar, Lunaris, Stellar, Stellaris."

Nightpaw smiled. "Thank you! That's all I needed to know. There's something I want to talk about with my mate Slagar alone in peace now with. Please, can I beg you for some privacy now?" She wagged her tail.

"Certainly! We won't bother you anymore. Good bye!" Again, they left waving a paw towards the parents and their kits.

"Good bye!" Nightpaw smiled again. She remained still, looking at the doorway even when they were gone. A short moment after, she turned around head to meet her mate's. Now they lay together like they had done earlier. Curled up together, the kits in-between them, covering and warming them together as they were still suckling from their mother. Nightpaw-Softtail endeared herself to him by stroking her head with his, eyes shut.

"_Slagar_… Somehow I have a strong feeling my past before we met is a part of you, in the same way your past before you met me is a part of me."

"Please, talk to me, Nightpaw. All these names, when I saw the forest from above when we first arrived here, the flashbacks I have seen and lots of other things have felt so familiar somehow, one way or another. Please, my mate. I hope you can shed some light to my loss. Tell me your story."

Nightpaw cuddled even deeper into her mate. "Before I start. I just have to tell you how much I love you."

.  
.  
.

_Mattimeo (Slagar and Ironbeak) - Brian Jacques.  
A Fox's third chance - A-son the fox._


	18. A Vixen's past

_Chapter XIV – Nightpaw-Softtail's story_

"What is it, Nightpaw? Is your story really that bad?" Slagar was worried how she had told him before that her story would be a serious one, and in the next moment she suddenly assured him of that she loved him? Was she that afraid that something could happen? No, he would never betray his mate or newly earned family. No matter what they did in the past. You live in the moment, right? Now is now. He made a promise to himself that no matter what he learned, he would assure her that it was the moment that mattered. He wouldn't change just because of the past. Only in positive ways – in the family's point of view on what is good for them.

"It does have its happy moments, but they are all short lived, so back then those moments meant a lot to me while they lasted. Now, it's over. Now I have you. A new you."

"New me?" he looked at her, both curious and worried. "What are you talking about?"

"Remember that forest I sometimes mentioned? The one I said I came from naturally before I moved to where we met?" Slagar nodded.

"I do. What about it?"

"First, I believe this 'Mossflower' is where I was born, the forest I came from. But my story takes place somewhere else. We've been there, too."

"And where was that?"

"In the outskirts of Mossflower. I had come there in search for a home. My parents had laughed and said that Mossflower was probably a place where fox males could be found almost everywhere. So to find someplace new but still be able to find a home there, and perhaps someone to share it with, and yet get to a place somewhere were I did not happen to be followed by a male after each every other tree I passed! So that I could be able to, if I found a fox I liked, he wouldn't already be followed by so many other vixens. Or so that I wouldn't be constantly followed by male foxes while I tried to find out which male was honest and kind to me!"

Slagar chuckled at the thought, too. He didn't know (or rather didn't remember) how each place had been, but he could easily imagine how it had been, both for male and female foxes alike. He sympathized with her, in a humorous way.

"Sounds like it was going to be a challenge to find a home." Nightpaw smiled. "So what happened next?"

Nightpaw laid down her head to rest rightly beneath Slagar's chin, yet so their cheeks met. She would lay there during her whole story telling. In the meantime, their kits would lay in-between both parents' tummies, feeding as the parents spent their time together as they did, keeping themselves busy as well as the small ones.

"This story might bring a few shocks to you, my dear. But don't worry, I'll explain as good as I can and I will be here to be at your side during my whole story. Because I'm so worried about you every time something bothers you. Because I love you…"

They lay still for quite a while, not moving a muscle. Moments later, Nightpaw-Softtail began telling him her story.

"So… shall I continue?"

* * *

A young Nightpaw-Softtail was walking through Mossflower. She was in search for a home, and if she had an extra amount of luck, someone to share it with. She liked the idea, it would be quite nice to succeed in both finding a home and a male she could show to her parents whenever she came by, or if they came by, to visit. She satisfied her thoughts with a soft nod and determined mind. While she was tracking for a destination which held a good home in its end, she heard very faint muffled noises.

She stopped in her tracks and turned her head to see where she had heard it came from. It seemed to come from that burrow. A fox's den? While she knew in the back of her mind that an occupied home would mean nothing to her in her search, her curiosity to find out who lived there took over. Who knows, maybe she or he could share it, if not, offer her advice? It was worth a try. In the end it could turn out to be a waste of time, but she took that risk. The chances for something good to happen was bigger then that of an unfortunate.

She closed in on the den. The scent of fox was there. According to the scent, the fox didn't seem to have left the burrow for a long time. What kind of a funny fellow lived here? She giggled to herself. She had to tell him that it was time to wake up and go out and see the nature and feel the day! She entered, and the smell of a male filled its home. She held her giggle. Why wasn't this, wherever he was, male out looking for love like all the other foxes? Maybe he was outside after all.

Just as she was about to believe so, she heard the noises again. This time she was so close that she could clearly hear what the noise was. It was someone talking, even now he still unaware of her presence.

She looked at the fox, back faced to her. She watched on, with innocence and curiosity on her face. Funny thing, this fox, she thought. He hasn't even noticed me? Strange, he should have at least picked up the sound of my steps even if I would be standing in tail wind. Funny fox!

She kept on looking. What he was doing, she couldn't see. But he was doing something to himself. Maybe he was washing himself clean?

Why doesn't he hear me? Is he _that_ busy? What is he doing? Her curiosity struck her for the third time in a row, for she had gotten even closer now, leaning over his right shoulder.

"Hi!"

The moment right after she spoke, the fox dived forward, where he turned around and stared at her, standing in a defensive pose, waiting for her intentions to be shown by her next move.

"Aw, did I startle you? Don't worry; don't be frightened, I mean you no harm. Wait, no, don't go!" The fox sprinted towards a corner as Nightpaw tried to talk with him as she followed him with her eyes, turning her head more and more to the left. He had stopped now, watching her from a distance.

"Easy there, cutey! See, I won't hurt you; I would never hurt a living being! So you can be calm around me!"

He didn't look startled anymore, but now he was looking at her insecurely. He remained unsure, about why the vixen was in his den.

"Why else would anyone be looking for me?" She walked slowly towards him, with a movement and voice that would show him that she was harmless.

"You don't have to be worried, my dear little fox! I just happened to be curious when I heard and smelt that someone lived here. I was going to ask for advice in my search for a home and hopefully someone to share it with!"

He carefully focused on her as she was slowly getting closer. Now it was he that felt certain. "I'm not at all worried. Why would I be that? It is _you_ who's in my den, after all. So if anyone would be worried, it would be you. A home you say? Well I'm busy."

She smiled. "No worry! Then perhaps you could be so kind and offer me some advice that could be of some help in my search?"

He briefly looked away as he snorted. "I know only myself. I haven't had time to meet others."

"Well that's too bad. Maybe one day you will? I'm sure of it! By the way, what were you doing? You must have been awfully busy, for you didn't even hear me, thee hee hee!"

He looked away, but the shadows were already covering him. "I don't want to tell anyone."

"Ah, so it was your little secret, then? Well, I won't bother you anymore then! Bye bye!"

He shook his head as he saw her turn around to leave. He was on his way to continue with what he was doing, when suddenly he put a paw around his throat and his grip got harder and harder, while simultaneously he made his way to where he had stood before the vixen had startled him. Nightpaw-Softtail had immediately turned around when he heard his wheezing noise.

"What's the matter? Oh no, what's wrong!"

"Ah! Arrrgh! This…pain! Urrrgh!"

He was on the spot he had been on in the beginning, and now Nightpaw saw what he had been doing. He had been mixing with herbs! She walked towards him, but this time determined to reach him no matter he would think of it, to offer him her aid.

"Here, let me help you with that." He, surprisingly, backed off and sat down, still holding his throat tightly.

"You… You know about h-herbs? And their… their uses?"

"Just very little, but my mom taught us how to cure 'simple' things such as different aches and sicknesses. I ought to be able to help your pains, if not; at least I will be able to ease it."

The fox remained where he sat, breathing, staring at the vixen that had appeared out of nowhere and decided to help him. Maybe he could find some need of her visit after all.

Soon she had mixed up a possible potion and showed it to him. "There, it's finished. Now – please, lay down."

He looked up at her. "Why?"

"It will be easier, of course, honey!"

He looked away for a brief moment. "Well alright…but no tricks." Nightpaw smiled.

"There! Good boy!"

The fox wanted to comment on that, but he wanted her to get it over with, so he remained silent.

"Now. Show me where it hurts." The fox seemed to be worried.

"Arr… no." Nightpaw-Softtail looked worried as she spoke to him with a soothing voice.

"Aw, please. Show me, please?"

"No, I'll do it!" Nightpaw's worried look eventually convinced him to let her see the wound. When she saw it, she became worried for real.

"My, what happened to you! Aw, you poor thing! These bites are deep!" he looked away as he heard her worry as she wanted to console him in every way she could think of.

"Ah, don't worry, it's nothing. Don't feel a thing." Nightpaw tilted her head, and even after seeing such a serious scar, she teased him.

"Then how do you explain this?" He knew what she meant. He felt pain now.

"Maybe I tried not to think about it so it would feel less." She laughed.

"You silly thing! You're so cute!" He just looked at her. She smiled down at him. She stood there and he lay still, like if the injury was forgotten.

"Anyway, let me help you now!"

"Alright." He exposed his throat to her and she leaned closer to help him. "Just be careful not to OW!"

* * *

Later that day, Nightpaw-Softtail had suggested that he would rest. She had made him trust her, so she had offered him her help again by watching his den. Maybe from uninvited unknown vixens she had mischievously thought to herself as she giggled silently. They soon saw each other again. She was sitting with her back turned to where he rested. Suddenly she heard him moving around.

She turned her head to see what he did. He finally seemed to have recovered. For now.

"So, are you cry and healthy now?" she smiled.

He laid down to rest, still sore from the wounds, still making him feel tired as he time to time felt it. She walked over to join him. She sat down beside him, smiling as she looked at him. It was now she realized how long she had stayed with this fox. She couldn't help herself from wondering what about her that had made him change.

He slowly rolled over enough to see her better. She had a smile.

"I have to tell you something."

She tilted her head, same smile. "Hm?"

"You mentioned something…earlier. About a search. What were you searching for?"

She tilted her head back to normal, eyes shut for a brief moment as she began. "I already told you; a home to stay and hopefully someone to share it with!"

"Well I got an idea earlier. Seeing that you are in search for this, and I saw that your help would be very useful whenever my pain became too much for me alone to be able to handle. I come to think… that I will need your help if this keeps up. And so I permit you to stay." Nightpaw leaned closer to him, searching for words.

"So, you're saying…! If I help you, you will grant me my wish!" He simply answered, now even with a nod.

"Yes."

"Oh, foxy!" she embraced as much as she could of the laying fox, now stuck from getting up, as she stroked her head against him as she also cuddled him. "Thank you, thank you!"

"Umph…you're welcome." His head was seen sticking out somewhere in her embrace. "You're welcome."

* * *

Late that day, the fox went to sleep. His bed was a simple blanket. He curled up, then laid there completely still, staring in whatever direction his head happened to face. He lay like that for a while until he finally shut his eyes and his head tilted down so his cheek met the ground. Not so long after that he immediately woke up, eyes open. He felt a presence. He raised his head without moving any other muscle to see what it was. It was that vixen. He had laid down right next to the vixen who was already sleeping, curled into herself on his bed!

"Now what?" he asked, his voice a little slow from tiredness. He had stood up from his bed, now fully standing as she remained laying. Her eyes went up. She uncurled, but remained lying.

"I'm sharing your bed with you." She turned her head so she wouldn't have to look at him in a strange perspective. "Am I doing something wrong?"

"Why, it's… why it's my bed." He shook his head. "What are you doing here?"

"Have you forgotten? We agreed to help each other, and so you helped me with my search: 'A home and someone to hopefully share it with'."

"Yes, so what about it?"

"Well… if this is the home, then I need someone to share it with. So… what are _you_ doing in it? There! There's your answer; I'm using my wish you granted! I'm sharing the home!"

"Wait, do you mean, that…," he paused, looking right into her eyes. "that you wanted me to be your mate?"

"That depends on how you are as one! I said I would want to share my first own home with someone, didn't I? It can't hurt to give you a chance!" she smiled back at him with a warming, caring smile. "After all, you were so kind to me to share your home with me in the first place!" The fox slightly began looking down.

"I wouldn't say that. I just did it because that I may need someone to help me in case my injury gets too hard for me to heal by myself…" Nightpaw didn't seem worried about the situation. She was feeling confident about how her fate seemed to take shape.

"Don't worry about that! Who knows? You may turn out to be a perfect roommate! Maybe there's even a great good personality inside of you that you are shyly keeping hidden! And you'll find out if there's anything more about me that you may like! "

The fox didn't answer, but that didn't matter to Nightpaw-Softtail. She calmly continued.

"We'll see in time, won't we? Now… let's get some sleep." She lay down properly again, about to curl up, still resting on her side. "It'll be interesting to see how our first night together will be! Won't we, mate!" She was wagging her tail.

He made a faint smile, which for a long time since it happened last, was because of something that had humoured him. "Heh, sure."

"Trust me, this will be a fun experience!" she turned around to face the other direction, and then she curled up half-way.

"I hope…" the fox's voice seemed a little, like if he was annoyed by the vixen, humorous.

She laid her head down to sleep and spoke with closed eyes. "And next day, we'll have more time to know more about each other."

The fox remained standing. He was thinking about what he had agreed on. Of course, she had said that she wanted someone to be with her after she had found a home. She had thought that _he_ could be a good first try. So, if he turned out bad, she would move on? He hadn't planned on having a vixen, especially as a mate, but he had planned on eventually gathering foxes. So in the end, it seemed inevitable that sooner or later a vixen would appear among them. That he had a chance to have a mate though he never imagined.

Well, he thought again, he agreed to let her stay because she could help him, not because he was in need of a mate. So if he tried to be a good male, she would have a reason to help him. She _was_ of much help, so if he really was in such a need of her as he persisted, he would have to try to be a good mate to her. This would be a challenge. It was his first time as a mate and he was unable to risk losing her. So for it to hold, he would have to learn what love is.

He looked at Nightpaw-Softtail for a while longer. She was now sleeping soundly. But she could have also been awake, waiting for him to join her, and to see what his first move as a mate would be. Somehow he had a feeling of the second. She could be awake – and with those reasons. In case it was so, he thought on what would be best to do. He didn't think for very long, because he decided to simply do whatever _he_ felt to do.

Sleep.

He simply lay down on the blanket, back to back with the vixen Nightpaw-Softtail. He did what he had promised to himself, to try and get some sleep. But with a vixen right beside him, it felt different. One part of him was determined to sleep, but an inner part of him wanted to be with this vixen and let loose whatever newly discovered feelings he had towards her. He had never in his life been with a vixen before, especially not one who was his mate, and she was sleeping on his bed. He simply wanted to sleep and try and forget the new and curious thoughts going on in his head.

Eventually, he got enough, and he felt that he had to do whatever these new-found feelings wanted to do so that he, then, afterwards finally could get some sleep. He was startled when a loud yelp from the vixen suddenly made him awake. But deep inside, he wasn't surprised. He seemed to have turned over to face the vixen's back, and very soon after, found out that his urges had been _very_ strong towards these newly discovered feelings! The vixen had, of course, also waked up. But she didn't seem to mind his urges' choice. After all, she didn't mind to find out about her newly discovered feelings, either! So she let him.

The fox had really put effort into it. His mouth was open, breathing by lolling his tongue up and down. Nightpaw-Softtail, relieved, moved her head to reach in for a kiss with her tongue at his nose, getting his breath in her face as she met the exhausted fox's.

"You may have found it strange that I said this over and over already, to a fox I hardly know anything about, but I love you. Let's just hope you're as eager to be my mate as you mate!" the fox made a wide mischievous grin.

"Heh. Sorry about that. I couldn't help it. I hope you excuse my behaviour, for I had no control over it as I discovered more and more new feelings dwelling inside of me when I felt your presence and the thoughts of having a mate."

"It's alright, dear. I think I felt the same." She reached in for another lick. It was strange how he now could accept this tenderness when he had seemed almost scary when she saw him for the first time. She suddenly began, but slowly because of tiredness, wagging her tail. "By the way, I'm curious about your name, fox! What is it?" The fox was quick in replying to that.

"My name is C…" he paused. "my name is …Revan." Her ears perked up.

"Nice name! Where'd you get it?"

"It's a substitute for my old name. I wanted to get my own name!" Nightpaw tried to wag some more, but her ears revealed her mood if Revan didn't feel the slight increase of her waging.

"Amazing! That's how we do, too!" Revan tilted his head.

"Who's 'we'?"

"My family!" Revan added in an almost depressed 'oh' in-between her sentence. "We made a cute idea where we could see what names we could make up if we could describe our feelings during our best moments, thereby getting ourselves some very great and fitting names!"

"So, do you have a name yourself right now?"

She laid one paw over the other as she thought. "Well, I think the feelings I have now, and specially during our act, were quite unique and will probably just happen once while you're my mate. Well, the first things to come up in my mind were words that explained our shared moment together. Words described such as soft, comfy cuddling and tails just as comfortable and as soft as the cuddling and mating. My, I think I know a fitting name based on my feelings during that event! What do you think about 'Softcuddle' and or 'Softtails'?"

"You could use both, can't you?" She smiled.

"Why, yes. I've decided. I'll use them both! Thanks, love!"

"Call me Revan."

She was reminded of what he mentioned earlier. "Hmmm, by the way. Didn't you say your name was a substitute for your old?" He nodded and she smiled.

"Then why don't you do what I just did? You could make up a name, the same way I just did it! It will surely fit you well when you discover it!" Revan seemed hooked.

"Hm. Don't know. You actually described most of the feelings already. Mine were quite similar to yours and how you described them. Because, just as you, the feelings from the moment you based your name from is also my most unique experience right now."

"I see! Or else our names will be too similar, right?" he nodded, and then he went into thought.

"Hmmm. Somehow I want to describe the time of the act and yet different from yours... Maybe something about the night it happened?"

It was quiet for a moment. Moments after, Nightpaw-Softtail (that time now known as Softcuddles-Softtail) thought of a suggestion.

"Oh I know! What about paws black as the night?

"Nightpaw?"

"Yes! Or something about the starlit night you mated me under?" Revan wanted to burst out with a laugh. He had noticed the hint of the hidden teasing.

"Perhaps Cuddle-Tail? You did have a very soft tail, yourself!"

Revan smiled faintly.

"Or perhaps the moon?" There was a short pause after she was done with the suggestions that could describe the time of the day when their special moment had taken place. "Did any of those help you with your decision?"

"I don't know. But I sure got inspiration. Aha! I know!" Revan rose up halfway, the lower part of his body still laying and very close to Softcuddle's.

"I am going to start over at new! And henceforth with a new name, worthy of a real fox! 'Lunar'!"

He turned to look at the exit of the den, where weak, transparent rays of moonlight came in. "Which I will use, when the time is right."

"My, that's a nice name!"

"Yes, I know. I think it fits me. I always had a thing for the night. Now, please," Revan took a deep and long yawn. "I _have_ to sleep!"

Softcuddle laughed whole heartedly. "Aw, you poor fox! It's no wonder, seeing how long I've kept myself up as well as you, I would know. Well then, my dear _lunar fox_. Why don't you join me so we can sleep together?"

Revan gladly did so. He was dead tired. He had planned on being asleep for quite a long while ago! So many strange things had happened for both the vixen and the fox. And so much had changed in just one day! The time together with a mate would be an experience, indeed.


	19. A link to the past

_I hope yer enjoying your freetime!_

_XV - Nightpaw's story continues_

Weeks passed, and for each new day the occasional risks of Lunar getting pain in his throat lessened. But his memory seemed to get even weaker for each day as well, and he seemed to forget things easier the more weeks that passed. Softcuddles-Softtail, in the present time known as Nightpaw-Softtail, noticed this, and was beginning to get worried if he could actually forget even his own mate one day. It would be terrible if he forgot that he had been daddy to a litter of his own kitlings.

One day, she decided to make reminders for her mate Lunar in case he would one day, if only for a brief moment, forget his family. She had made him everything from symbols (which could be as simple as a soft leaf which, for Softcuddles, meant very much for her mate to remember her by) to necklaces, usually made by things a kitling usually collected, valuing it as treasure, to remind him of their family.

He, of course, had said that he felt he would have to give her a gift or more as exchange, but she had told him that she would never forget her mate. Softcuddles told Lunar that she would just have to lie resting on the grass outside the den during the night, under a starlit night as the moonlight bathed her, and she would look up at the source of the silver beauty. And she would see the moon. And it would be _their_ moon.

* * *

The time for birth was nearing, and Softcuddles-Softtail's increasing excitement didn't seem to have a limit! She had asked her mate Lunar to accompany her, telling him it would be good to walk outside in the fresh air instead of losing his consciousness and memory in a burrow. And she wanted to spend as much possible time with the father. 

Lunar didn't seem like himself, more and more on the edge for each new day. Instead of listening at his mate's talk, he seemed stuck on always looking at his surroundings. Like if he had become haunted by something recently. Softcuddles was of course worried about her mate's well being and behaviour.

"It makes me worried when you are constantly on your guard all the time, dear!"

Lunar was looking at two or three directions at once, with long pauses in between. "I have a feeling that… something's watching. Watching _me_. The forest… this forest. It knows something!"

Softcuddles-Softtail turned around and walked the short distance to her mate, nuzzling him with her muzzle. "I'm worried about your condition, love… your pain doesn't seem to be as big as a problem anymore, but now your well being is constantly bothered by strange thoughts and wild paranoia, born from those thoughts! I don't want anything to happen to you, Lunar… and you _know_ that as much as _I_ do."

Lunar had watched her as he discovered her walking towards him, but now he was more focused on the horizon behind her.

"I beg everyday for you to get well again… I can only imagine what pain you must have had when it was always felt, unlike the occasional times when I found you. Oh, it must have been so horrible! And now this! Ow, how I long for the day I will see you as the young, healthy fox you must have been before all this!"

Suddenly Lunar spotted something in the distance. Softcuddles noticed this, and she turned her head to look in the direction her mate was looking at, trying to spot what he had seen.

Suddenly, Lunar took a few steps backward, his body looking very frightened as he did, the end lowered as he backed, almost like if he wanted to sit. His tail was in-between his legs and his ears were flattened. Eyes wide and shock visible over his face's features, mouth slightly open, like if he was stammering.

Softcuddles-Softtail noticed that he backed away, and when she turned her head back to look at him, she got worried, but also confused and curious, when she saw that he had been frightened by something.

"Mate? Mate, what is it? What frightened you, dear?" Lunar remained the way he was.

"It's them… the ones who took my mom! I knew there was something wrong with this forest! They've been sent to finish it!" Softcuddles looked at him worriedly.

"Your mom? Finish it? Who are they, what do they want with you? Please, love, explain! I don't know what's happening!"

"Rats… Redwall… Death… I remember it now!"

"Please, dear, I don't know what's troubling you!"

"Can't stay! Must leave this place forever! I can't go back here until I'm strong enough! My cunning enough won't help! I must escape!" Lunar hurriedly turned around and ran, leaving Softcuddles-Softtail alone. Softcuddles-Softtail, still unaware of what spook him, called for her mate, trying to convince him that there was no danger to run from.

"No, wait! Love! Looove!"

But he didn't stop. And soon Lunar was gone. Softcuddles-Softtail didn't know what to feel. What should she do? Follow him? Run away herself and wait for him at the den? Find out what spooked him was? As she thought, the traveller had gotten nearer, and when Softcuddles turned around again, she stood just a few steps ahead of him.

"Who are you?" she asked with a calm voice, but still with a small hint of curiousness.

"Um, am… I am… I am a simple mouse, young lady. I can't do you any harm, I'm unable to! And I have nothing of value, either." She just smiled friendly. But she was still slightly unaware about what she would do. After all, it was he who had spoken Lunar.

"It is not you who should be worried, for I am unable to do you any harm myself! It is actually _I _who's afraid that _you_would harm me!" The mouse had a slightly faked shocked look, looking very funny!

"Now why would I do that to another creature? We Redwallians respect all life and care for the living!" Softcuddles smiled at that. He wasn't the frightening one Lunar's behaviour had made him out to be. In fact, she really began to like him! More so when he began asking about her!

"What is your name, fair vixen? You seem to be a kind, friendly and loving young vixen, a gift you should be very proud of!" Softcuddles couldn't help herself from blushing, trying to hide it, smiling at the flattering wise old mouse.

"My name is Softcuddles-Softtail!"

"Ah! What a lovely name! It surely fits you well!" She blushed even more, smiling wider.

"Thank you, you're too kind! What is your name?"

"Me? Oh my, excuse me, I haven't introduced myself properly yet! My name is Mordalfus, abbot of Redwall." Softcuddles-Softtail tilted her head curiously.

"Redwall? My mate just ran off in fear because of you!"

"Me? Now why would I be such a frightening sight for fox?" he spread his arms, putting more 'how could I' effect as he spoke the word '_I_'. "He was no adult, but he certainly wasn't a cub either. I have no idea what scared him!"

"Yes, I know. But it's strange. You see… he said something about you being a rat, along mentioning something about 'Redwall'. What did he mean?" Mordalfus adjusted his glasses, earning more "wisemouse" aura.

"Rats? Redwall? We don't have any rats at Redwall. And did you say he mistook me for a rat? Well, he _was_ far away, so we shouldn't blame him for his misunderstanding! But that takes us to another puzzle. _What _about the rats made him so frightened that made him leave you?" Softcuddles looked down at the ground.

"I'm not sure… and that's what troubles me. Along with that, he's the father of my litter…" This time, the abbot's shock was real.

"Aw, my! Now that wasn't good… You mean to say that now your cubs will be born without a father?" Softcuddles tried to hold in a whine, but she couldn't stop her whimper.

"There may still be hope…" He put his paw on the vixen's head, consoling her.

"There's always hope…"

"But…but… I'm afraid that it's impossible." She spoke her next sentence fast, so that she could get to the point without any interruptions. "He was suffering, easily mixing up and sometimes forgetting things. He also said that he was unable to stay in this forest anymore, because of this unknown fear of his! So even if he would return, I'm so scared that his troubled mind may not make him! Oh, Mordalfus, I don't know what to do!" Mordalfus had never seen this in his whole life. The vixen was crying! The emotion was so new for him, but yet, deep inside there was that familiar feeling where you embrace and console one, be there for someone who needs it, the same way any other Redwaller did when a tragedy happened to a fellow mate.

"There, there, everything will be alright! You'll see! Just have hope! You will meet again! You are mates; your souls are always bond to each other! If you won't find each other, then your hearts will! I promise!" Softcuddles had looked at the ground the whole time, but her gaze went upwards, step by step, finally meeting the mouse's eye-level. A small smile escaped her muzzle when she saw the wise old mouse's determined face. It brought her new hope.

"Thank you, Mordalfus… "a sniffle escaped her nose. "You have no idea how much your consoling means to me… I'm all alone now, you know."

"One is never alone. Never forget your family and old friends, young vixen!" at this, the vixen actually cheered up!

"That's right! I will have to prepare for my new family's arrival! I must leave now, friend, but we'll meet again! And thanks again! You've been of great help!"

"Anytime, my child! And I will be looking forward to our next encounter!"

* * *

Mordalfus never spoke so much about his encounter with the vixen. He saw it as his own little nice secret. A pleasant memory which he would remember her by! 

As he was walking through Mossflower another day, he had heard a female calling for him. He had turned around and saw the vixen again, running towards him, her whole body giving out a body language of being overjoyed with emotion and big happiness! Thrilled by her behaviour and appearance, he was anxious to ask her about her happiness and joy. She told him that her litter had been born, one girl and one boy!

This had been wonderful news! Of course, she had then insisted on taking him to her den (especially after Mordalfus quoted 'I wish I could see them!'). Mordalfus, at first, being a little hesitant if he wanted to, was soon convinced by the vixen's over-joyful behaviour and with expressions, both on her features and body language, that sparkled with a young's excitement and joy!

Now it was night. The abbot of Redwall had visited his new friend for so long that it was starting to get dark! He may have got some of his other friends over at Redwall wondering where he was. But he knew that they wouldn't blame him if it was for the sake of a friend. Especially one who had just become a mother! So every second he had spent with her had been worth it. And that Softcuddles-Softtail was now also the single parent.

Just before Mordalfus was about to leave and go back to his home, he wanted to give his new vixen friend a few last encouraging words before he left. She was sitting outside, right in front of the dens opening, both so she would have herself close to her litter, and so that she could save her kits from any cold winds that could blow into the den, because one reason why kits could die in their early time is because of cold, and each time they are left alone (this won't happen when a mate is around, which wasn't the case for Softcuddles-Softtail), the risk of that is the highest.

Mordalfus had just left her den when he turned and looked at her, smiling, stroking a gentle paw over her head.

"My child, I hope you will have a blessed and wonderful life with your family. They are beautiful! I can only wish you and your family well. Good luck with the parenthood, Softcuddles-Softtail!" Mordalfus walked away, but soon stopped in his tracks. Something told him that it wasn't time to leave yet. His instincts told him to turn around, so he did. He saw that the young vixen wasn't ready to go to sleep just yet. He brought up a subject, which he deeply hoped wouldn't make matters worse.

"It's your mate, isn't it?" Softcuddles-Softtail let out a sigh.

"Yes. I can't stop thinking about him." Softcuddles played with her paws, putting the right paw over the left and then vice-versa, making her look deep in thoughts.

"He was very different, but that doesn't change the fact that he is after all the daddy to our kitlings… I _will_ meet him again; I can feel it in the wind." She looked up at the sky. "And so, I thought of a poem for him. And my words will travel with the wind, and eventually, meet him."

"A poem?"

"Yes. Well…I think it's a poem. I don't know the right word for it, so I'm guessing. But here goes. These are the words I want the wind to carry with it:" She leaned her head backwards, looking at the starlit night sky, looking like she was going to howl.

"'Yesterday, today, tomorrow and forever, the moon shines at me, smiling at me. Because it knows that you adore me. And from yesterday to forever, the moon shines at you as well, also smiling at you. Because it also knows that I adore you back.'"

Mordalfus smiled widely at his friend. He didn't want to break her mood, by telling her if it was a poem or not. For seeing this vixen, with this hope, was something he wanted to leave her with – with this hope in her heart. The vixen looked at him, gave him a small smile, and judging from it she seemed a little shy. Probably because she tried to give him a good poem, worrying if it sounded bad. But it didn't. His smile would prove that to her.

"It was wonderful! Well thought! I know your mate would love it! O! Of course, I'm sorry – he _will_ love it!" He put his paw on the back of her head, looking into her eyes. "When it reaches his ears, he will come for you, remembering his fond memories of the times he spent with his kind, friendly, gentle love! Don't you worry, friend! He'll come back! Never let go of your hopes, young child! Now, if you'll excuse me, I must be off. 'Till next time, friend!"

* * *

The mouse and the vixen said their goodbyes and they went separate ways again, back to their home and family. Softcuddles-Softtail hurried back inside her den, half-running back to her kits, curled up together, forming a big ball looking shape. She laid down right beside them all, curling up as a ball herself, making a circle like wall around all of the kits. She began licking them all, to clean and give them more warmth then just their body temperatures combined. She still thought of her mate, but her hope was strong so she never felt down. 

"Our names are connected. They were both created from the day we expressed our love and affection for each other, during that night. Our names are connected, based on that moment. I am the emotion; my name expresses the emotions we had during the act, an act which will be one of the most emotional and meaningful of our lifetime. And you have the moment, Lunar. So you see… we will never forget one another. For I certainly won't. So even if you happen to forget, I will be there to bring your memory back from the lake of the forgotten. I will always be here for you, my dear fox. So will our kits. We will always love you – no matter who you are."

When she was done speaking for her newborn fox and vixen and far away mate, she stopped licking, and smiled widely at them, her eyes narrowing so much that she looked like that she had been deeply touched. If a tear fall, it wouldn't surprise anyone that happened to see her at that moment.

She laid down her head over both her kitlings, and slept in, nose buried into her tail, her kits right under her chin. She dreamt of her kits.

* * *

I can't believe this delay. I got a nasty error and had to wait for a half week before I could submit a chapter that was done a half week before that!  
Well, now I'll try to enjoy holiday, I hope the rest of you will! I certainly want alot of things done right now.  
Iexpect pointers and critique to help this story be as clean as it can get! Love you all!

_A-son the Fox - Fanfiction_

_Brian Jacques - Originals_


	20. Final

_The circle is complete_

I have a real hard time expressing this, but I'll try... I really don't like saying this, but, I became very lazy during my summer holiday, and this may have me stop writing fanfictions and creating something entirely my own, so I can create something like this but without the Redwall boundries! So, there's a chance that the story will end here, but, if that's the case, I could put the epilogue on_this_ chapter, explaining how it went? I'm really sorry for this happening, but I assure you, the ending would take place soon anyway. So, now I may stop with fanfictions, but I'll still write, draw and be creative as usual! Maybe I'll move to an art site or something... Give me advice if you wish, dear friends! So as you see, do not think of this as the end, but as thebegining of something new and better! And to my most solid followers, Redflower and Kareah, I would love to keep the contact with you two! If you would to, just tell me how we could do so, right? And as a last note, enjoy this chapter!  
Though short, it's still a chapter!

* * *

Nearly a year's time has passed. Softtail's litter was now finally ready in attempting to take care of a den by themselves. The vixen of the kits, like most vixens, weren't ready to live alone, so she decided to stay with her mom, Softcuddles-Softtail. Even though their mother had plans to leave and find clues on her mates an their dad's whereabouts, she remained in that den, waiting for her return, unless she hadn't got the courage enough to head of to try and find her very own one.

By this time, the male kits were usually already away looking for their own home. However, when he heard that their mother was going to leave, he remained at his sister's side. This way Softcuddles-Softtail could then, together with her two kits, say their goodbyes together and simultaneously to each other.

Today was the day that it would take place.

---

Softcuddles embraced her daughter, by sitting in front of her as her tail is wrapped around her daughter, as the kit vixen lean forwards to get deep with her head in her mother's fluffy chestfur, cuddling with her with closed as, as Softcuddles has hear head cuddling with her head from above, also with closed eyes.

"Don't you be worried, my dear Charmtail. I will return to our den as soon as I have found your daddy. He will be overwhelmed with emotions when he sees you two! He's never seen neither one of you!"

The young vixen forced forward a smile and looked up at her mother. "We will be that ourselves, mom! I have always wanted to see him, mom!" Softcuddles smiled down at her kit.

"And you will, my kitlings!" Softcuddles hugged her vixen back and then stood up. She went over to her brother, and gave him the same hug, which he embraced in a similar way her sister had.

After that, Softcuddles-Softtail was ready to leave, and so were her kits in seeing her take off. But before she left, she turned her head around, smiling warmly back at them both, simultaneously waging her tail.

"Good bye, my dears. I will be back soon! I have faith in you – I know you will manage while I'm gone. I trust you dears. I love you, both of you, with my whole heart!"

When they had shared their goodbyes, the two kits were soon left alone at their birthplace. Charmtail already missed her mother. She stared down at the ground, already thinking about her mother, waiting for her. Her brother saw this. He leaned his head downwards and used his cheek and nose to stroke the side of her head.

"There, there, don't feel sad, sis. I know that you miss her, but for now we will have to work together if we want to see her any time soon! Also think of how proud and happy mom will be when she sees how well we've got along together while she was gone! Not to mention how _dad_ is going to react when he sees it, too! And sees _us_! It will be a happy reunion! So let's work hard to make sure it stays that way!"

She sniffled, but not of sadness, but of hope. Her brother's attempts to cheer her up had worked! Now she felt determined to reach the same future as her brother had spoken of. She looked back at her brother, smiling at her, his eyes shining, and it made her feel warm when she looked at them, soothing her. She slowly smiled back at him.

"_Sniff_. You're right, Softnose. I, _too_, would love that to happen!"

Softnose smiled wider. "So. Will you help in working for that goal with me?" She nodded hard, her face expressing a lot of determination.

"Yes! I will! I want to achieve this together with you, dear brother!"

* * *

When they had shared their goodbyes, the two kits were soon left alone at their birthplace. As she was walking, Softcuddles-Softtail couldn't stop thinking about her young. She occasionally looked behind her, hoping to see them whenever she did. But she always repeated in her head that the sooner she concentrated and put all her focus on finding her mate, the sooner she would see them, and with her love with her!

She travelled and she travelled, taking her days in her long journey. Each metre she thought that it may have been better to turn around and walk home, but the Lunar's scent got more and more frequent for each distance, which always made her change her mind. She knew deep in her head that it would be unwise to turn around now when she had him in her scents!

After a long time of travelling, she walked over a wooden bridge and now she stood before a land with strange smells, where a familiar male fox's was one of them. She leaned her head backwards so that her nose got higher up, turning her head to scent in all different directions for the strongest source.

All the while she simultaneously, in her mind, thought, and knew: 'He's been here! He may even be close!'

She followed the strongest and most recent track, but was soon scared of by its uncomfortable aura, surrounding the location she entered. So she decided to try a detour, and happened to stumble upon a den which lay between a large spruce, perfectly hidden by the shadows it made and its roots. It's got to have been his! She was so sure of it. But was disappointed when she found out that it was empty. But the scents of a male didn't fool her.

She decided to use the den as a temporary home, waiting for his return.

* * *

When Softcuddles-Softtail had waited long enough, she left a mark (both to find her way back and to possibly give her mate some kind of clue that a vixen had been visiting his den – again!) and left for a search of food and a good enough water source.

She kept doing this for a very long time.

And one day… that was when she met her mate again, as a whole new fox!

* * *


End file.
